Dr. Lorraine Doherty:

We had a discussion about this in the HSE just this morning. I thank Deputy O'Dowd for his question. It is a very important issue. We too are concerned about this because it shows that perhaps people are becoming a bit disengaged with the idea of having a Covid test if they are symptomatic, or if they are a contact, because they understand the implications of having a test on day zero and again on day seven and the need to restrict their movements. In particular, people in the workplace may be reluctant to be tested. What I need to emphasise is that our public messaging is very strong on the need to have a test if a person is symptomatic and also if one is a contact of somebody who is symptomatic.