Walk-in Covid test centre set to close this evening
News Update
The walk-in COVID-19 test centre today set up in Cavan Town last Friday will close later today (Monday), May 10.
“We are here today, Friday, then Saturday, Sunday and Monday,” Tom Horwell the Assistant Chief Ambulance Officer of the North East and Midlands, who oversee the operation, told the Celt.
The ‘walk-in, no appointment necessary’ COVID-19 test centre is for people with no symptoms. Operating at Cavan Swimming Pool & Leisure Centre, Drumalee, Cavan, it is open from 11am to 7pm daily.
The decision to run the test centre followed a spike in confirmed cases of Covid in County Cavan over the bank holiday weekend when 27 cases were reported on Saturday alone. Ten cases were confirmed in County Cavan today by the Health Protections Surveillance Centre (HPSC) bringing the five-day rolling average to 6.4 cases a day. The figures are up to date as of midnight on Thursday, May 6. There were 112 confirmed new cases in the fornightly period up to that point in County Cavan.
It translates to an incident rate of 147 cases per 100,000 of population. The national average is 129.7/100K.
The HSE’s Department of Public Health North East and Community Healthcare Organisation (CHO) Area 1 work with the National Ambulance Service to identify asymptomatic cases of COVID-19 and reduce further transmission in the community.
“Public Health identified Cavan as a site they would like us to test. On that basis we set up here in a joint venture. People from the HSE are undertaking the admin, while the National Ambulance Service are doing the testing,” Tom explained.
“I cover Louth, Meath, Monaghan and Cavan. We are still running an emergency service, but as part of that we have special teams doing this since day one. We have conducted community testing and testing in meat plants in that time. Our teams have run these walk in test centres in a number of location; recently in Dublin, and in Navan over Easter,” the National Ambulance Service AC said.
A spokesperson for the HSE said: “We urge members of the public who have symptoms of COVID-19 to consult with their GP to arrange a COVID-19 test, and to not avail of the walk-in facility. Anyone who has already scheduled a COVID-19 test is asked not to attend the walk-in centre.”
You should use this free, walk-in COVID-19 testing service if you: are aged 16 years and over, do not have symptoms of COVID-19 but would like to be tested, and have not tested positive for COVID-19 in the last six months.
Members of the public will need to bring photo ID and provide a mobile phone number in order to provide test results.