Priority Covid-19 testing to be considered for direct provision residents
The National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) will meet this morning to consider testing every resident in direct provision for Covid-19.
The latest figures show there are 164 cases of the virus in asylum seeker accommodation, up from 88 last Saturday.
A further 29 people with Covid-19 have lost their lives, bringing the death toll to 1,403, while there are 22,385 confirmed cases.
Chief medical officer Tony Holohan, said today's meeting will look at prioritising testing in direct provision centres.
He said direct provision is "location where we think we have a continuing challenge" and that NPHET will consider how they can prioritise testing "and other response capacities" available.
Dr Holohan said that priority testing is also being considered for meat factories where cases have been detected.
He said "some specific focus" will be given to new areas of infection after "the nursing home work that has been done in course of the past couple of weeks."
NPHET will also discuss the rules in place for people arriving into the country, after it emerged a third of passengers did not give their quarantine plans to authorities.
Yesterday Ireland recorded its lowest level of new confirmed Covid-19 cases in 47 days as the chief medical officer declared the project to suppress the disease “a success”.
