Covid-19: 'Positive signs' as HSE ramps up weekly testing capacity to 140,000

Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said the coronavirus infection rate, positivity rate, and reproductive number have fallen in recent days showing “positive signs” for the country. Picture: Sam Boal/Rollingnews.ie

The Covid-19 infection rate, positivity rate, and reproductive number have fallen in recent days showing “positive signs” for the country, the Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has said.

The minister told the Oireachtas Health Committee the latest Covid-19 metrics were “hopeful” and confirmed that the reproductive or R number had fallen from 1.0 last week to between 0.7 and 0.9 in recent days.

“There are positive signs in recent days. The 14-day incidence rate is 228 cases per 100,000. This compares with 278 in the previous 14-day period,” Minister Donnelly said.

The health minister further confirmed that the infection rate is falling in 23 of the 26 counties, that the average number of close contacts has fallen from six to around three, and the testing positivity rate has fallen to 4.7%.

By “moving early and comprehensively”, he said, Ireland was “bucking the trend” being seen in many other parts of Europe, where 14-day infection rates stand at 830 cases per 100,000 population in France, 567 cases per 100,000 population in Spain and 469 cases per 100,000 population in the UK.

“While our figures are hopeful, the number of positive cases remain a very serious concern,” Mr Donnelly told the Committee.

We have seen almost 11,000 cases reported in the last two weeks. 

"We must continue to actively suppress this virus to the greatest extent possible,” the Minister added.

Mr Donnelly said Ireland’s testing rates were “high by international standards” and confirmed that weekly testing capacity had been scaled up further to 140,000 tests and that demand for testing was down by 40% in the past week.

“As of this week the HSE can now do up to 140,000 a week,” he said, adding that the HSE and staff involved deserved “great credit” for ramping up testing further.