Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. First of all, it is a phenomenon we have not come across that there is a higher incidence of Covid-19 in close proximity to testing centres, but I will ask the Chief Medical Officer to investigate this and give his comments and his perspectives on it, and those of the HSE personnel involved.

Testing and contact tracing is a key component of the Government's strategy in terms of combating Covid. We now have an all-island capacity to test up to 126,000 people per week, which can be increased to 140,000 per week by utilising available surge capacity. We have a very strong capacity now in terms of testing and tracing. We have completed about 2.1 million Covid-19 tests overall. We consistently rank among the highest countries in terms of tests completed as a percentage of population, something that does not often get the acknowledgement it deserves, and 91% of GP referrals get a swabbing appointment within 24 hours. The median end-to-end turnaround time from referral to end of tracing for detected cases in the community is 2.1 days. We continue to recruit significantly in terms of community swabbers and contact tracers.

On Louth, the spread of the virus in the Border counties, including in Donegal and Monaghan, is concerning us, and there may be issues in terms of the higher levels in the North as well. That is something we are keeping a very focused eye on. Once it gets to certain levels, it does increase exponentially. There is a large-scale static testing site in Ardee. It has been operational since October and it has a capacity for 600 swabs per day. The HSE said it decided on that location having looked at and assessed a wide range of locations. The criteria included suitability and sustainability of the location as a long-term testing centre, and the location of the test centre relative to observed travel times to it was also considered. The HSE identified Ardee as best to meet these criteria for a testing centre in Louth, noting travel times from both Dundalk and Drogheda as fewer than 25 minutes. That is what the HSE has said to me.

In recent days, demand for testing has been in the region of about 200 to 250 swabs per days in Ardee. There are currently no pop-up test centres opened in County Louth. The HSE's view is that, within County Louth, testing is available in a relatively accessible manner and it does not have any particular plans for changing that right now in County Louth itself.

The HSE says that demand in County Louth is well within capacity. The community healthcare organisation area which includes Louth has an average time from referral to swab of 11 hours, with 56% of people receiving a same-day appointment. Some 96% of all people get an appointment on the day of referral or the next day. The Deputy is correct to note that the incidence rate in County Louth is 87.7 per 100,000, with a swab positivity rate of 6.6%.

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