COVID-19 tests are now available to anyone aged five or over who has coronavirus symptoms.

Signs to look out for include a new continuous cough, high temperature or loss/change in normal sense of smell or taste. Anyone experiencing these symptoms should self-isolate and arrange to be tested using the downloaded COVID-19 app or at the Isle of Wight satellite testing facility.

Island residents who record their symptoms via the app will be connected to a call centre where they can order a swab test, which will be sent directly to them and collected the following day.

Anyone they have been in close contact with, who also has the app, will be alerted anonymously via a ‘ping’ and given guidance on what to do next.

For those who cannot use the app to report symptoms, the drive-through satellite coronavirus testing facility at 1Leisure Medina in Newport is available and operated by Isle of Wight NHS Trust.

This centre has provided over 2,000 tests since it opened last month. Appointments are available Monday to Saturday between 9am and 2.30pm, and can be booked by telephone.

On arrival a self-test kit is provided which involves taking a swab from the throat and nose to identify if coronavirus is present. Those who test negative for coronavirus can return to work as soon as possible, and those who test positive can isolate while recovering.

Simon Bryant, director of public health for Hampshire and Isle of Wight Councils said: “By making it easy for those with symptoms to get tested, and with digital contact tracing provided by the NHS COVID-19 app, we can continue to reduce transmission of the virus across the Island.

"If uptake and use of testing and the app is widespread it will give us the greatest (opportunity) to enable the return to normality.”