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The rise in coronavirus cases and suspected infections has forced the Health Service Executive to shift priorities and ultimately ration its Covid-19 tests given its ability to perform 100,000 tests a week.
When the virus was at lower levels in the community, testing could focus on asymptomatic cases to contract the virus in more risky settings, such as nursing homes and meat plants.
In recent weeks, the rise in infections and the increasing number of people communicating with their GPs with symptoms has forced the HSE to shift its focus to focus on those who may have the disease.
The first warning sign for the HSE came on Monday when there were 13,000 referrals for GP testing, more than double the number from the previous Monday.
Not all tests would be done that day, but another 8,000 referrals from GPs the next day meant that the HSE had to “grade” the tests to maintain the daily limit of 14,000 to 15,000 tests.
Hospital needs
Schoolchildren with respiratory tract infections and people showing symptoms of the disease in North Dublin, where infections are highest, accounted for a large proportion of referrals.
Some 13,000 GP referrals might be manageable if that was all the system had to test, but there may be between 2,000 and 4,000 Covid-19 tests needed in hospitals on any given day, so serial testing they would become victims in order to take the test. sick people and not yet exceed the daily limit.
Outbreaks at food processing plants were the cause of local closures in Kildare, Laois and Offaly last month, and the HSE is still testing those plants when there are outbreaks, but mass testing in these settings has been postponed. to save testing capacity for symptomatic referrals. .
Nursing homes
The HSE justified this by noting that the positivity rate in symptomatic tests was running at six times the rate in serial tests on meat plants. Massive testing will continue in nursing homes, the highest risk setting given how vulnerable older people are to the virus.
HSE CEO Paul Reid said he had 350 search engines and 280 contact trackers working on any given day, all 12-hour shifts, seven days a week. The health service is looking to permanently recruit for 700 swabbing jobs and 500 contact trackers as it seeks to move from the war situation of recent months to an established system for Covid-19 testing and tracing.
He hinted that the HSE might have to consider increasing the 100,000 weekly testing capacity if necessary. Based on the recent trend of increasing infections and community referrals, the permanent regimen may require a much greater capacity to maintain health service during winter.
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