Three hour wait for Covid tests at Splash World

Families desperate to be covid clear before they reunite with loved ones at Christmas are facing three hour waits for a quick result test.

The Smart Coronavirus Testing centre in Southport is currently so busy people who are queuing for up to three hours.

The endless Christmas Eve queue snakes around the Splash World building on the promenade and into the car park as thousands of people come from across the region arrive in the hopes of celebrating Christmas with a negative test result.

Residents have been told they can be cleared of having the virus within 35 minutes meaning the test kits have seen a major surge in popularity and demand over the last week as thousands try to reunite safely with their families ahead of Christmas Day.

One queuing hopeful told OTS News: “We got out of the car at 8.40am & back in at 11.10, so 2.5hrs all together for us but that was early on.”

Another told an OTS reporter on leaving the centre that his family from arrival to departure had been at the centre for 3 hours.