New walk-in Covid test centre opens in West Cork
Two walk-in Covid test centres open in Cork and Westmeath. Photo: Larry Cummins.
A new walk-in Covid test centre opens its doors in West Cork this week as part of the HSE's advanced testing for local communities.
The centre at Randal Óg GAA Club in Dunmanway will not require an advance appointment.
Asymptomatic people in the community will be able to get a test done at the centre until April 20 from 9am to 5pm.
A second walk-in clinic will also open today at St Loman's Hospital Campus in Mullingar, Co Westmeath, operating under the same time and dates.
The walk-in testing will operate alongside the existing testing in these centres where people with symptoms and close contacts of confirmed cases of Covid-19 are referred by GPs.
Head of the HSE's Test and Trace programme, Niamh O'Beirne, says they're the first centres to operate like this.
“What we’re doing with the pilot is testing how the centre can operate and manage both walk-ins and also the appointment based service to see if this is something that we can do in the future across the rest of our static testing estate,” she said.
Those who wish to avail of the free service must:
- Have no Covid symptoms
- Have not tested positive for Covid-19 in the past six months
- Live within 5km of the test centre
- Aged 16 or over
People are advised to bring photo ID with them and to provide a telephone number for results.
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