Calls for HSE to routinely publish list of Covid-19 hotspots

The HSE said it has 29 Covid-19 community test centres in operation at present. File Picture: A nurse at a community test centre. 

The HSE should routinely publish a list of Covid-19 hotspots and consider rolling out mobile testing to reduce the risk of viral spread, the co-leader of the Social Democrats Catherine Murphy has said.

The re cent experience in Kildare highlighted access difficulties for non-drivers who had to take public transport to get to a test centre, increasing the risk of viral spread, Deputy Murphy said.

The HSE said 29 community test centres for Covid-19 are open across nine community health organisation (CHO) areas, with the flexibility to scale up or down as required. 

Three counties – Leitrim, Longford and Carlow - do not have a Covid-19 testing facility as the centres are organised by community health area.

“We continue to closely monitor demand and increase capacity where and when appropriate,” the HSE said.

At the outset of the recent outbreak in Kildare there was no test centre, which led to pop-up facilities being rolled out. A new centre opened in Punchestown last week but Ms Murphy said it was not easily accessible to non-drivers.

“These centres have to be organised so that people can get to them relatively easily,” Ms Murphy said.

“If there are going to be further lockdowns, there has to be the ability to deal with cases and spikes as they arise without putting the individuals themselves at risk or putting other people at risk,” she added.

Mobile testing could be part of the solution, she said. 

It's far better if testing comes to an area rather than people having to go to test centres in cases where there is a spike.

Active Covid-19 hotspots, Ms Murphy added, should be made publicly available.

“Nobody is suggesting that we look for information that could identify individuals but certainly big centres of population could be identified so that people can weigh up the risk in a certain area and if they need to take extra precautions. That would provide a greater sense of solidarity and public goodwill”.

The local restrictions in Kildare had a “real consequence” and will result in job losses and businesses collapsing as people continue to seek answers over how the “ball was dropped”.

The 29 community test centres:

• CHO1 O'Donnell Park, Letterkenny
• CHO1 Finisklin , Sligo
• CHO 1 Ballinagh , Cavan
• CHO1 Cloghan GAA centre outside Castleblaney , Monaghan
• CHO2 Castlerea Fire Station, Church Road, Castlerea, Co Roscommon
• CHO2 Galway Airport
• CHO2 Castlebar McHale Park
• CHO3 The LIT Gaelic Grounds Limerick
• CHO3 The Derg, Nenagh
• CHO3 Ennis - Cusack Park
• CHO4 Tralee - Army Barracks (Tralee Primary care unit)
• CHO4 Dunmanway
• CHO4 The Lee Covid-19 test site
• CHO5 Waterford
• CHO5 Nowlan Park Kilkenny
• CHO5 Clonmel
• CHO5 Wexford
• CHO6 Glenside Road, Wicklow
• CHO6 Clonskeagh Hospital
• CHO6 St Vincents University Hospital
• CHO7 Tallaght Stadium
• CHO7 Kildare Punchestown
• CHO7 Aviva Stadium, Dublin
• CHO8 Slane Health Centre
• CHO8 Muirhevna Mor Dundalk
• CHO8 Tullamore Drive Through
• CHO8 Portlaoise - St Fintan's Campus
• CHO8 St Loman's Drive Through Mullingar
• CHO9 Nat Show Centre Swords