Experts warn PCR testing system 'maxed-out'

Infectious diseases expert Dr Eoghan de Barra has called on the Government to make a decision now about using antigen tests as a means of identifying Covid cases, as PCR testing capacity has been overwhelmed. 

Infectious diseases expert Dr Eoghan de Barra has called on the Government to make a decision now about using antigen tests as a means of identifying Covid cases, as PCR testing capacity has been overwhelmed.

The curve needed to be flattened and self-isolation was necessary for anyone who has had a positive antigen test or was experiencing symptoms. Making changes in the length of time for self-isolation would be a call for Government and was necessary to stop numbers rising, he said.

“The Government was elected to make these tough decisions,” he told RTÉ radio’s News at One.

Hospitals were now facing into a difficult period for Covid and non-Covid care,  as patients who attended for a non-Covid issue were infected in hospital which could then impede their journey to recovery, he warned.

“It's planning for the worst, hoping for the best” he said

There could be many more positive Covid cases “out there” he told Newstalk’s Late Breakfast show earlier.

“The system can't cope, and we don't have an idea of demand – at least the HSE doesn't release to us how many clicks they're actually getting to try to get slots. The 50% positivity rate is a vast over-estimate, probably because of the number of people who are doing a follow-up on a lateral flow – an antigen test that was positive.

So there are probably many, many more infections out there that either can't get a test, are not going to bother getting a follow-on test, or indeed have such minimal symptoms that they're not going to get a test.” 

Dr de Barra told both radio programmes that hospitals, public services such as the gardaí and fire brigade and essential businesses were all going to face difficulties next week with staff who had either tested positive or were close contacts.

People needed to know what to do if PCR capacity was overwhelmed, which was to self-isolate if they had a positive antigen test or were experiencing symptoms, he said.

Infectious diseases consultant Dr Cliona Ní Cheallaigh warned the public “if you don’t want to get Covid, then don’t be in mixed gatherings”. Picture: iStock

Difficult decisions would have to be made in hospitals about staff who were close contacts, he warned. It was likely it was “not sustainable” to have to wait 10 days before they could return to work, but this had to be balanced against what risk they posed to vulnerable patients.

Earlier, infectious diseases consultant Dr Cliona Ní Cheallaigh warned the public “if you don’t want to get Covid, then don’t be in mixed gatherings”. 

Dr Ní Cheallaigh added she would advise people not to mix at house parties, in restaurants or pubs where people were mixing without masks as it was “very likely” that someone there would already have the virus.

She said the testing system at present was “maxed-out” and it was difficult to get appointments, in such circumstances it was very likely that the “true” number of cases was much higher than the 16,000 recorded on Wednesday. This was “a pretty staggering number” she said on on RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland.

With levels so high it was “sensible” to advise anyone with symptoms or a positive antigen test result to behave as if they had the virus.

It was also sensible to reduce the number of days for isolation for anyone who was a close contact, who was asymptomatic and had a negative antigen test result, as the health service and essential services needed staff, she said.

It was “not an unrealistic thing to do” to reduce the number of days of self-isolation to seven, she said.