40,000 awaiting Covid-19 tests in Ireland as symptoms threshold relaxed

Paul Reid said that all facets of the fight against the disease are set to scale up in the coming weeks.

There are more than 40,000 people waiting for Covid-19 tests in Ireland on the back of the relaxation of the symptoms threshold, the HSE has said.

At a media briefing in Dublin, Paul Reid, the executive’s CEO, said that all facets of the fight against the disease are set to scale up in the coming weeks.

35,000 testing kits, 11 million facemasks

He said that as much as €240m is to be spent on procurement of health supplies, in contrast with the normal annual HSE figure of €15m.

That will see the delivery of a further 35,000 testing kits for the illness this coming week, while the country is to take delivery of 11 million facemasks as the HSE moves to sate the service’s stretched resources.

An additional 10,000 beds are to be added to the Irish hospital system in expectation of a surge in patients, while the number of Intensive Care spaces would be increased to 500. As of Saturday evening, 13 people, or 2% of those hospitalised, were in intensive care.

Waiting times for the test are currently between four and five days Anne O’Connor, the HSE’s chief operating officer, said.

Last week 2,000 people were being tested on a daily basis. That will increase to 4,500 people from Monday, Ms O’Connor said.

Meanwhile, Pairc Ui Chaoimh is to go live as Ireland’s 35th, and largest, testing centre for the illness this evening.

When operational the GAA stadium will be testing 1,000 people per day.

A further six testing sites are set to come online in the coming days, she added, with plans to eventually have 50 in place in order to deal with the backlog.

'No cause' for comfort

Mr Reid said, however, that the fact that positive test numbers for the virus were significantly lower yesterday than on Friday is “absolutely not” cause for comfort.

Some 191 new cases had been announced on Friday, by far the biggest figure to date. However, the figure as at Saturday evening was 102.

“We are at the very beginning of this. We take no comfort just now,” he said.

Dr Sarah Doyle, specialist in public health medicine, said that the chances of contracting the virus in the community do remain low, but that this is set to change in the coming days.

“At present if you have mild symptoms, you probably do have a common cold,” she said.

Mr Reid said that the number of people involved in contact tracing has ramped up to almost 1,200, from just 40 at the beginning of the crisis.

He urged people not to blame the young of the country for their perceived indifference to the crisis as it “doesn’t help”. “That won’t win hearts and minds,” he said.

Regarding the issue of inadequate social distancing in the retail outlets, such as supermarkets, which remain open, he said that the idea of enforcement of such measures is a matter for the National Public Health Emergency Team.

He added that the efforts of most such agents in the retail sector have been “very commendable”.

Regarding the mobilisation of the LE Samuel Beckett as a floating testing centre, Mr Reid said that represents a boon in the “immediate availability” of a trained workforce which can begin operations immediately.

There are currently 785 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Ireland to date, with three people having lost their lives.