Fears of Covid-19 outbreak at Cork direct provision centre 

Residents at Kinsale Road Accommodation Centre have been asked to attend Covid-19 tests on Thursday. Picture: Larry Cummins

There are fears of a fresh Covid-19 outbreak at the Kinsale Road Direct provision Centre in Cork after residents received a letter asking them to attend for testing this Thursday.

The letter, issued door-to-door this week and seen by the Irish Examiner, "strongly advises" residents to attend testing between 4pm and 7pm on Thursday.

"You are being invited to attend for the test as you have been in contact with a confirmed case of Covid-19 in the recent past", it said, adding that the test was a precaution and to keep residents safe.

Asking for "full co-operation", it added: "It is really important that you go to get the test so that we can protect everyone from any spread in the centre."

It also advises that residents continue taking measures such as wearing a mask and social distancing.

Both a resident who spoke to the Irish Examiner and another person familiar with the situation at the centre suggested that a number of people, including at least one family, have been moved from the centre in recent weeks due to testing positive for the coronavirus.

The centre has approximately 250 residents and was the scene of an earlier outbreak, described at the time as "serious", last December, in which up to 50 people were understood to have been moved from the centre to isolate.

One resident said people still had to share rooms including bathrooms despite the recent outbreak.

Another resident, who has recently tested positive for Covid-19 and who was moved from the centre, said that a number of testing runs had been conducted recently but that not everyone would have attended as some at the centre were "reluctant" to participate and the testing was not mandatory.

He said he was likely to remain away from the centre for a number of days as his young child, who so far has not tested positive for the virus, was being monitored.

"I have one concern which is when we go back how safe will it be for my little one?" he asked. "What is the point in doing our isolation and then going back to a place where others might be infected?"

Recent figures show that Cork county has the second-lowest incidence of Covid-19 in the country.

The centre refused to comment on the situation, while the HSE could not confirm whether there were cases at the DP facility and said it did not comment on individual cases.