Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Cúig nóiméad.

I welcome the witnesses and commend them on their commitment and dedication to the work. I assure them that the whole country is listening and learning from the way they present the facts.

I wish to ask some questions about the number of people not turning up for testing. This morning, the HSE told us:

We refer people for day 0 tests and day 7 tests. Somewhere between 70% and 80% of people will show up for day 0 tests, and on occasion it gets closer to 85%. On the day 7 tests, it is closer to 50%.

Some 50% of people not turning up is a high figure. We were not given it in July when I asked the same question. Will the witnesses comment on this, please? I acknowledge that 98% of all tests are negative, which is reassuring, but it is also a reason to ensure that those who do not turn up actually are tested.

This is a particularly important question in the context of recent public commentary. The reason it is of particular important is that, of course, we are proponents of testing and want people to turn up for their day 0 and day 7 tests. That is absolutely vital. We are looking at alternative testing modalities that might be less uncomfortable than the traditional test we are using at the moment, particularly for the day 7 test. However, the result of that test does not change what people need to do. If someone is a close contact of a confirmed case, he or she needs to restrict his or her movement for 14 days. We want more people to come forward for testing. What is more important than anything is that if people have symptoms, they must not take the traditional approach of waiting to see how it goes for a couple of days but, instead, come forward immediately, put their hands up, contact a GP, identify themselves as having symptoms and get a test. That is the way in the first instance that we will control the spread of this disease and protect individuals and their families.