Limerick hospital to boost Covid-19 testing by 70% with new €4m lab

The purpose-built laboratory is scheduled to be operational by January.

Testing capacity at the hospital will increase from 150 to 350 tests per day. File Picture: University Hospital Limerick.

A €4m purpose-built Covid-19 laboratory, which will boost testing capacity at University Hospital Limerick (UHL) by 70%, has been given the green light under the Government’s national pandemic strategy.

The “emergency construction project” is expected to be open and operational by the end of January, and will increase UHL's existing daily test capacity by approximately 150 tests per day, to around 350, a UHL spokesman said.