Council bring in army to help with surge testing in Blackburn's coronavirus hotspots As rates of Coronavirus continue to rise in Blackburn with Darwen, surge testing will move into a new phase of door-knocking in certain areas, with added support from army staff. This means that from Friday (today), staff from Blackburn with Darwen Council’s engagement teams will be calling at people’s homes in areas that have higher rates of the coronavirus variant of concern now known as VOC-21APR-02. Staff will deliver information about testing and PCR test kits, returning later to collect completed tests. This increased testing will happen in the Shear Brow area of Blackburn from today.