Matt Shanahan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I wish to address Mr. Reid first. In terms of public policy communications, I have had representation from Conradh na Gaeilge asking that the HSE look to do some Irish messaging across the English radio and television channels and examine postering to make sure there is a representation of the messaging in Irish.

I refer to the policy on nursing homes. We know that the elderly are most at risk with respect to Covid. Has the HSE thought about any type of asymptomatic testing of staff in nursing homes? In other words, is it trying to find some way to carry out randomised testing of healthcare professionals to ensure they are not going to work as vectors of the disease? We have to go into the centres where people are most challenged.

The Chief Medical Officer was not able to give me a response to an earlier question. I ask Dr. Henry whether NPHET or any of the other medics are looking at the use of hydroxychloroquine, which has been used by a number of medics as a prophylactic. In terms of getting Covid, there is a lot of evidence building about supplemental vitamins, in particular vitamin D and zinc, for the elderly in respect of trying to stave off infection, and whether this should be a policy we consider. I believe Abbott has what may be an antibody test. An Israeli company has, I believe, developed a new generation saliva test. Do we have any information on those tests and when they might become available to us in Ireland?

Could the witnesses describe the difference between at risk and vulnerable in terms of our healthcare personnel? I know of a nurse who has diabetes and uses an insulin pump, and was described as at risk rather than vulnerable. She works in a setting where a patient tested positive. She had not treated the patient for 24 hours and, therefore, was told that she could not isolate and if she did she could do so using her holiday time. She was then asked to swab a patient who had a high temperature, which she did while wearing PPE, but she then had to wait a number of days for a test result to come back which was, happily, negative. She, like a lot of people, is confused about who is at risk and who is vulnerable.

There is a direct provision centre in the south west of the country where refugees have been placed in the past month. They have been largely isolating and have now come into the community. There is a lot of angst in the community that some of the refugees might harbour Covid and no testing regime has been implemented. Could we have some proactive testing in direct provision centres so that those living in them can mix without any issues of racism or anything else arising?