There were extraordinary but at the same time heartwarming scenes at Greasby Library this morning.

The Library is our nearest COVID-19 testing centre, where people displaying no symptoms can be checked out.

Today demand was such that a queue of at least 250 people snaked around local shops before reaching Greasby Road to creep towards the Library itself.

Staff from the testing hub were out doing a fine job politely explaining that the wait for a test could be as long as two and a half hours.

The reason for this unprecedented demand is simple.

"It's people preparing for Christmas Day and wanting to confirm they are virus free before getting together with anyone else," a member of Wirral Council staff said. "Yesterday was quite busy, but not like this. It's a worry having so many people outside on the pavement, but everyone is very patient and good natured. They just want to make sure."

This was borne out by people I spoke to waiting in line.

Testing staff have no wish to put people off taking the COVID test, but were taken by surprise by today's demand. They are hopeful it will ease off both this afternoon and tomorrow.

The importance of testing can't be underestimated.

We are fortunate to be living in a Tier 2 region - for the time being at least - and one of the reasons for our present status is the mass COVID testing carried out in Liverpool earlier this year that lowered the rate of infections in the city.

Cases fell from 635 per 100,000 people in mid-October to 99 by mid-December.

Mass testing invites everyone to be tested, whether or not they are displaying symptoms, with the aim of identifying people who are asymptomatic - in other words, infected but symptom free.

They can then be told to isolate to prevent the virus spreading.

So while long queues may be daunting, testing can deliver both individual peace of mind and a greater chance of collective good health.