CORONAVIRUS tests, taken on the Isle of Wight, will be sent to the mainland for testing and to get the results.

Despite a mobile testing unit opening on the Isle of Wight from tomorrow (Saturday), stopping the need of residents having to travel to be tested, the tests will still be sent across the Solent for analysis.

Read more: Drive-through coronavirus testing coming to Isle of Wight from tomorrow (Saturday)

Before the news of the mobile testing unit arriving on the Island, concerns were raised by keyworkers and their families about having to travel across to the mainland to be tested for Covid-19.

Now the site — set up in the car park of Medina Leisure Centre and open until Tuesday (April 28) — will test essential workers and their families who are showing symptoms of the virus.

Following the announcement of the testing unit, questions continued to be asked about whether or not results could be determined on the Island to cut out the need for further travel.

According to information from the government, tests will be sent to one of three 'Lighthouse Labs', a diagnostic network of labs, which have been specifically designed to determine the results of Covid-19 tests. Results will then be released to the tested in 48 hours.

However, the sites are in Glasgow, Cheshire and, the closet to the Island, Milton Keynes — meaning tests will be sent more than 125 miles away.

There, tests will be looked at for signs of the virus's genetic material showing whether someone is currently infected.

The Island's testing unit has been set up through partnerships in the local resilience forum to access local facilities.

Read more: Isle of Wight confirmed coronavirus cases now at 82

Mobile units and other regional testing sites have been set up in aid of reaching the government target of completing 100,000 Covid-19 tests a day — the deadline for which ends next week, at the end of April.

Read more about the joint effort that transformed the hospital site to tackle the coronavirus crisis.