Nursing home Covid testing 'is not mandatory for staff'

The chief operating officer of the HSE, Anne O’Connor has said that they are looking at the introduction of weekly Covid testing in nursing homes. File photo: Leon Farrell / Photocall Ireland

The chief operating officer of the HSE, Anne O’Connor, has said that they are looking at the introduction of weekly Covid testing in nursing homes, but that testing was not mandatory for staff.

While she personally thought it was not acceptable that testing was not compulsory, Ms O’Connor pointed out that the majority of nursing homes (80%) in Ireland were private entities and it was a matter for employers to engage with staff.