Since asymptomatic testing went live at six centres last Friday, 23, 170 people have been tested up to 3pm on Monday. Tony McDonough reports

More than 23,000 people have been tested for COVID-19 so far as part of the city’s mass testing pilot programme.

Since asymptomatic testing went live at six centres last Friday, 23,170 people have been tested up to 3pm on Monday with 154 people (0.7%) testing positive for COVID-19.

A further 10 centres were opened on Saturday and two more today, bringing the number of Liverpool pilot testing centres for people without symptoms to 18, with more to open during the coming days.

These centres are running alongside the mobile testing units already operating in the city for people with COVID-19 symptoms. Learning from the pilot is already improving the service with longer-than-expected waiting times on Friday now improved thanks to new measures including an online map that lets people see which sites are busy.

The booking form – www.gov.uk/testliverpool – is also being improved after feedback from the public.

The pilot has already been expanded to include children under 11 as well offering 11-18-year-olds the chance to be tested in 12 secondary schools and one special school with parental consent.

To find out more about Liverpool’s mass-testing pilot please see these regularly updated frequently asked questions.

Mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson, said: “This is a strong start to the pilot with a really encouraging turnout and I’d like to thank everyone who has participated so far. We’re only in the early stages, but these figures demonstrate that Liverpool is up for the challenge.

“With more centres opening up in the coming days, we hope to see an increase in the numbers of people getting tested, and also encourage those who have already gone through the process to get a repeat test again during the trial.”