New mobile COVID-19 test centre to open next week at the Derry campus of Ulster University at Magee

A new mobile COVID-19 test centre will open at the Magee campus of Ulster University from next week.

The test centre will be available to students and members of the public.

It will begin operating on Monday, September 28 and will alternate each week between the Coleraine and Magee campuses. 

The mobile testing unit will be located at car park four on the Magee campus and will be available to members of the local community as well as students and staff.

The university has been working with the Public Health Agency (PHA) over recent weeks to establish and implement the centre which will rotate between the Magee and Coleraine campuses depending on community demand for testing

It is part of the Department of Health and Social Care’s (DHSC) public testing programme through which everyone in Northern Ireland with symptoms of COVID-19 is eligible for a free test and will help ensure a robust public health response as we move through the next stages of the pandemic.

The availability of a mobile testing unit on campus provides students with rapid access to testing and where students are symptomatic and in need of a test, it will help the University to mitigate the risk of spread on campus.  

The announcement follows a pilot testing programme that was carried out by Ulster University and Queen’s University Belfast in collaboration with the Public Health Agency in August to examine the prevalence of current or past infection within the student community.

Access to testing at the Magee centre will be by appointment only, booked via the existing DHSC channels, either online or by calling 119.