The HSE has offered over 1,000 appointments at the drive through community test centre at the county GAA grounds of Cusack Park since it opened back in April.
However, the HSE has declined to confirm how many if any people tested positive for Covid-19 saying “we do not provide information on individual test centres. The NPHET reports on the numbers tested positive daily”.
The Cusack Park community test centre has the capacity to test 200 people per day but the HSE outlined that there hasn’t been the need to test at that level as the public have implemented the government’s Covid-19 guidelines and continue to hold firm.
The HSE, however, acknowledged the role of all HSE staff “who continue to show commitment to community testing during this pandemic”.
The Cusack Park community test centre opened April 23 last and the Covid -19 test is an appointment based service following a referral completed by a GP, out of hours GP services such as Shannon Doc and Occupational Health department.
Once a referral is received appointments for testing are completed on the same day or next day appointment.
Referral criteria are sudden experience of one of the following symptoms and there is no other cause – fever, cough, shortness of breath and loss or change to sense of smell or taste or if identified as a close contact of a confirmed case of Covid-19.
The Mid West has Covid -19 community test centres in Ennis, Nenagh and Limerick and all three are drive through centres.
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A native of Ennis, Colin McGann has been editor of The Clare Champion since August 2020. Former editor of The Clare People, he is a journalism and communications graduate of Dublin Institute of Technology.