Covid-19 testing to be wound down within weeks

A Government spokesman said that, based on revised public health advice, Covid testing will no longer be recommended for the general population. Picture: Danny Lawson/PA Wire

The Government has agreed the end of Covid-19 testing for the general public.

Health Minister Stephen Donnelly accepted the recommendation from chief medical officer Professor Breda Smyth that testing be wound down from early Autumn.

A Government spokesman said that, based on revised public health advice, Covid testing will no longer be recommended for the general population.

Testing will only occur based on a clinical assessment where a doctor requires the result to "contribute to the diagnosis and management of an individual patient, or where deemed necessary by Public Health in relation to the management of an outbreak or specific public health risk".

It is not clear if patients will have to pay for tests, but the HSE has been developing an emergency plan which describes how testing will be ramped up if there is a need to reintroduce mass testing at the community level.