Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

To be clear, I am told that since 18 May the average wait from swab to result is one to two days, with overall end-to-end turnaround times of within three days. I will share the data I have with the Deputy rather than taking up his time now.

He made the very important point that testing is only a point in time. I think he would acknowledge that we have built up a lot of extra capacity that we can put to work in trying to manage and suppress the virus further. The ECDC has issued very important guidance relating to the testing of staff in particular in the nursing home setting on a regular basis. The national public health emergency team met today specifically on this matter and will make an announcement later today if it has not already done so while I have been in the House. My understanding is that this will result in all staff in nursing home settings being tested on a weekly basis for a month. We know that when we did the last widespread test of all staff and residents, including those who were asymptomatic - I think we are one of the few countries to so do - thankfully, the positivity rate was very low. In addition, the current policy is that if a facility has a first case, all residents and staff are tested, regardless of symptoms.

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