People with a fever, cough, or shortness of breath will be able to get tested for Covid-19 from next week.
The case definition is being changed, but vulnerable people will still be prioritised.
Currently, only people in at-risk groups, with two symptoms, can be sent for testing.
There have now been 1,014 Covid-related deaths in this country, including 5 healthcare workers.
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Tony Holohan, is confident the country has the capacity to deal with an increase in testing:
“We’re going to chance the case definition now in the clinical component, it will increase the rate of testing and thats what we what, we think we should be able to do that within the available capacity, that the HSE has got in place now, both in terms of capacity to take the sample and test it in a laboratory, and a lot of good work has and is being done to rapidly build up that capacity”.
Meanwhile 10% of Covid-19 patients within nursing homes or long-term residential care facilities have had to be moved to hospital for treatment.
Dr Colm Henry, from the HSE, says the total would not be different to the numbers who are transferred within the conventional flu season.
