Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Tuesday, 29 September 2020
Special Committee on Covid-19 Response
Covid-19: Update on Testing and Tracing and Rising Incidence in the State
Mr. Paul Reid:
On targets, we do currently have targets, which are published on the website, including the mean end-to-end turnaround time and the 90% target for three days. Most of our European colleagues and partners measure from lab test to results. Finally, negative tests are important where results are concerned. A lot of people seem to dismiss them and say they might not count.
Negative tests are key for people who are waiting for their test result, as well. I will just put that in the mix.
Regarding the Be On Call for Ireland initiative, we are calling from whatever remaining resources are on that. It has been a difficult period with that initiative. As we offer contracts and go through various recruitment processes for people to take up the roles, significant numbers of people dropped off but we are drawing from that pool right now.