All mainland Highland postcodes now eligible for Covid home testing kits after they were rolled out to all remaining parts of mainland Scotland, Scottish Government announces

COVID home test kits are now available for symptomatic people in all areas of mainland Scotland to book.

The kits were previously unavailable in some parts of the mainland Highland, Forth Valley and Tayside health board areas.

But online booking access has now been expanded to these remaining 82 postcode districts.

The Scottish Government said that this had been made possible thanks to improvements made by Royal Mail, who have made operational changes to speed up their service and activated an additional 98 priority post boxes to receive home test kits in partnership with the UK government.

NHS Highland and NHS Forth Valley are arranging a temporary courier service for anyone who cannot get to a priority post box while the UK-wide courier service is expanded to these areas.

People who order a home test kit will be sent instructions with their kit on how to return it once they have taken their sample, either through a Priority Post Box (PPB) or courier service if they are not able to access a PPB. Those who require a courier can call the national helpline number provided in the test kit instructions to arrange this service through the relevant Health Board.

Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said: “I’m pleased to announce that home test kits are now available for all areas of mainland Scotland, thanks to changes made by the Royal Mail, which address previous issues supplying home test kits in these areas.

“This will make it far easier for people in these areas to get tested if they have symptoms. The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring people with symptoms can easily access a test no matter where they are in the country, and we will continue to work with the UK government and local partners to improve access to Covid testing in remote and rural areas.”

The NHS Highland postcodes which were previously ineligible for home tests, but which will now be able to book them are:

FK20, IV10, IV11, IV17, IV18, IV19, IV20, IV21, IV22, IV23, IV24, IV25, IV26, IV27, IV28, IV4, IV40, IV41, IV42, IV43, IV44, IV45, IV46, IV47, IV48, IV49, IV51, IV52, IV53, IV54, IV55, IV56, IV6, IV63, IV8, IV9, IV99, KW1, KW10, KW11, KW12, KW13, KW14 KW2, KW3, KW5, KW6, KW7, KW8, KW9, PA28, PA29, PA30, PA31, PA32, PA33, PA34, PA36, PA41, PA78, PA80, PH30, PH31, PH32, PH33, PH34, PH35, PH36 PH37, PH38, PH39, PH40, PH41, PH42, PH43, PH44, PH49, PH50

But island residents within NHS Highland postcode districts should not order home test kits online, as they may not be able to return them via courier or Priority Post Box, and should refer to NHS Inform or call 0800 028 2816 to find out how to book a test through local routes.