// John Lewis becomes one of first UK businesses to pilot and roll-out NHS Test and Trace lateral flow Covid-19 testing
// Testing will now be available at 40 John Lewis and Waitrose locations in England
// Covid-19 testing was initially launched to the national John Lewis distribution centre at Magna Park, Milton Keynes in November
John Lewis Partnership has completed the roll out of its NHS Test and Trace Covid-19 testing thanks to a partnership with the Department of Health and Social Care.
Due to the trial’s initial success, testing will now be available at 40 John Lewis and Waitrose locations in England.
Covid-19 testing was initially launched to the national John Lewis distribution centre at Magna Park, Milton Keynes in November.
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The testing roll-out was in response to Black Friday and pre-Christmas demand, which processed around 135,000 johnlewis.com orders per day during the month.
Up to 1000 colleagues and temporary agency staff volunteered to be tested up to three-times a week.
The testing was rolled out at Waitrose and John Lewis supply chain sites, Waitrose.com customer fulfilment centres, John Lewis textiles factory and selected Waitrose and John Lewis shops.
Working closely with NHS Test and Trace, it will provide capability to test around 16,000 colleagues and temporary agency staff per week.
It will provide results within 30 minutes and feeds directly into the national testing database.
“We’re proud to have helped develop and establish a testing scheme that contributes towards the UK’s fight against Covid-19,” John Lewis Partnership Executive Director for Operations Andrew Murphy said.
“We already have a wide range of measures in place to keep our Partners and customers safe and rapid testing builds on this at our busiest time of the year.”
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