Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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334. To ask the Minister for Health if a national plan is in place to deal with persons with long Covid; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43912/20]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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I have asked the HSE to examine the matters raised by the Deputy and to provide him with a direct response as soon as possible.

Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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335. To ask the Minister for Health his plans to conduct Covid-19 tests on students before colleges finish for Christmas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43157/20]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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In Ireland, the National Testing Strategy for COVID-19 involves testing people who meet the case definition (people with symptoms), their identified close contacts, and established serial testing programmes. It is directed by the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) and coordinated by the HSE. Samples are taken by healthcare professionals in healthcare settings, community test centres, workplaces or in the patient’s home.

There are no plans to conduct the type of testing the Deputy describes. It should be noted that testing for Covid-19 only provides a point-in-time result. It confers no guarantee that an individual with a 'not detected' result is not incubating the infection or the level of virus is below detectable levels at the time of the test. It is for this reason, for example, that testing of close contacts of a confirmed case is carried out on two separate occasions, when they are first identified and again 7 days after their last contact with the person.

I have been informed that Covid-19 testing has recently been offered at a third level institution. This was done in response to an ongoing outbreak in the student population there. A Public Health Risk Assessment (PHRA) was undertaken, and it was recommended to provide an opportunity for students to self-refer for Covid-19 testing. The decision to provide a similar testing facility at any other third-level educational institutes would be based on the undertaking of an appropriate risk assessment. The risk assessment applied in educational settings may be dynamic and change as new information becomes available, and the testing strategy may evolve as information unfolds.

Ireland is pursuing a robust testing strategy under the guidance of the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET). On an ongoing basis, NPHET considers and reviews, based on public health risk assessments, how best to target testing to hunt the virus in populations where it’s most likely and where it will do most harm.

The testing strategy in use in Ireland remains under consideration by NPHET on an ongoing basis.