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The HSE has said that the positivity rate at walk-in Covid-19 testing centers is running at around 3%.
Five of these centers opened last week to screen asymptomatic people who want to get tested as part of efforts to identify the broader spread of Covid-19 in the community.
People with Covid-19 symptoms are still advised to arrange a test through a GP.
Four of the walk-in centers are located in different parts of Dublin and one is in Tullamore.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland today, Niamh O’Beirne, HSE’s national testing and tracing leader, said the center in Blanchardstown had shown a higher positivity rate than the other areas, but has now dropped to a similar range.
“We opened the centers last Thursday in Grangegorman, Blanchardstown, Tallaght, Irishtown and in the Midlands and they have been very well received in local communities with about 7,500 people coming in for testing,” he said.
The overall positivity rate now stands at 3% of test sites. While some of them had a bit more positivity than others, like Blanchardstown, which was ahead of the others, only with the most recent data this morning has it aligned with the others by around 3%. The lowest of the centers is in the Midlands at 2% and in Grangegorman also at 2%, which is located in the northern city center.
O’Beirne said younger age groups have been using walk-in services more often, with those 25-44 years old accounting for 41% of people who have come forward for testing.
The positivity rate for Covid-19 in walk-in centers among 15-25 year olds is 5%.
In general, the positivity rate for all laboratory tests performed during the last 7 days is 3.5%.
632 positive swabs, 3.11% positivity in 20,335 tests.
The positivity of the 7-day test is 3.5%.– Saturday, March 27, 2021# COVID19Ireland
– COVID-19 Ireland data (@ COVID19DataIE) March 27, 2021
Speaking about confirmed cases and where they are becoming infected with the virus, O’Beirne said that about 80% of positive cases come from people who are in close contact from a confirmed case or through “an outbreak or health care setting. ”.
So roughly one in five cases is community-transmitted, and he said the HSE is increasing its efforts to identify the source of these infections.
“That’s when the teams will now talk to them and spend the last seven days and ask additional questions about where they might have been.
What happens then is that the local public health department where that person lives will analyze that data and make a decision. And ask if more testing is needed in any of the places where the people were. The purpose of that would be to find more people who may have contracted the virus in the same place.
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Hospitalizations
According to the most recent data on the HSE daily operations website, there were 328 people being treated for Covid-19 at the hospital at 8pm last night.
Of these, there were 68 cases of Covid-19 in the ICU and 48 more people received ventilated care.
Health officials last night confirmed another 604 new cases of Covid-19 in Ireland and 13 more deaths.
The National Public Health Emergencies Team (NPHET) will meet today to discuss what recommendations on restrictions it will make to the government.
The cabinet subcommittee on Covid-19 is meeting tonight to discuss what relief might be possible with decisions to be approved by a full cabinet meeting tomorrow.
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