Reporter Liane Castle decided to go along to the new mobile testing unit in Maidstone to see how it worked.

Read on to see how she got on with her test and learn more about how it is done at the facility.

I expected to see dozens of people queuing at two metre intervals at 9am for the opening of the new mobile testing centre in Maidstone, but at 8.53am, there were just three people waiting.

The van was still being set up and the drizzly weather was not helping the situation.

The mobile unit has been deployed as part of an enhanced testing programme being rolled out across the ME14 1 postcode after around 20 cases of Covid-19 linked to the variant first identified in India have been confirmed in the town.

It comes on a day where it was confirmed Indian variant cases have risen in the county for the fourth week, but two Kent districts are still free of cases.

The unit is stationed in the car park outside Quaker Meeting House in Union Street and all who live and work in the area are being urged to get tested to help stop the spread.

The first people in the queue were Judith Butler, 79, Ann Beales, 73, and John Spencer, 68, who all live and work in Maidstone and came down to get a test as a precaution.

Judith said: "I work in MADM, the charity shop in Church Street and we have lots of people coming in and out and for that reason I thought I better get a test."

John said: "I thought there would be more people queuing."

Ann said the reason she has come down is because she made a delivery to Quaker Meeting House not too long ago and felt it was best to get tested just to be on the safe side.

After 30 minutes, nine people had been tested including myself.

The team were incredibly friendly and knowledgeable and after inviting me to sit down in one of the two curtained off sections, they talked me through how everything worked.

It took less than five minutes and it's exactly the same as having to do a lateral flow test.

It's a 10 second swab of each tonsil, and 10 seconds up each nostril.

The team then showed me how to seal the swab into a plastic tube and two bags before explaining how to ring and register my results before midnight tonight.

Before me in the queue was Lorraine Munn, from Medway.

The 63-year-old works at the Salvation Army also in Union Street and came along as a precaution despite the fact she has received both vaccines.

She said: "With the food bank we get lots of people coming into the building so that's mainly why. I've also got an elderly mother who lives in Maidstone and she hasn't been out apart from her jab.

"I feel I've got to keep up with the test in case I need to go and see her too."

Also taking it in turns to come along and get tested were workers from Hi Kent, a charity which supports deaf and hard of hearing people, in Brewer Street.

They have all been encouraged by bosses to come along and do the responsible thing for their colleagues and service users.

Although it wasn't as busy as I expected, there was a steady flow of people and by 9.50am, 17 people had been seen.

I thought it might have been the bad weather keeping people away but after speaking to some business owners in Union Street, it became clear this was the first they'd had heard of the testing happening on their doorstep.

Javad Amiri, 35, the owner of Union Tailoring Alteration and Dry Cleaning said while he was unaware of it, he thinks the unit is a good idea and will get tested on Sunday and encourage his staff to do the same.

It's not hard to see why there has been some confusion.

The mobile unit was first spotted in the area on bank holiday Monday but when several members of the KM team went to take a look, it had been packed away.

When asked about it, Kent County Council said it would be stationed there all week when in fact it only opened today and will be in place until 5pm on Monday.

We were just about to write a 'Where is this test centre' piece when KCC called a media conference yesterday when it emerged today would be the first day of operation.

The unit is capable of processing up to 400 people each day, that's 50 people an hour and 1,600 people over four days.

If today's start was anything to go by, Kent County Council might not get the sample number it was expecting but it's clear there are still plenty of people in Maidstone willing to do the responsible thing to get tested.

Kent's interim Director of Public Health, Dr Allison Duggal, said: "The reason we are doing this testing is because we have had some cases of the Delta variant in the ME14 1 area.

"We have had some cases associated with Quaker Meeting House, we don't believe all the cases are from there but we know there have been one or two.

"Same as Canterbury, the best thing for us to do is jump on it straight away, go and find out exactly how many people have Covid in the area, and see whether people have the variant and then take appropriate public health action."

Surge testing has also been taking place this week, in Canterbury.

The Maidstone centre will be open between 9am and 5pm for walk-in appointments only which means you cannot book a slot online.

The PCR test is available for anyone over the age of 12 who are not displaying any symptoms of coronavirus. Those under the age of 15 must be accompanied by a parent or carer.

Those taking part will be notified of their result – whether positive or negative – by NHS Test and Trace and are not expected to self-isolate while awaiting the outcome.

All positive results will be sent for further analysis and genome-sequencing to determine which strain of the virus is present.

For the latest coronavirus news and advice, click here.

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