Five walk-in covid-19 testing centres will open in locations in Dublin and Offaly from tomorrow and remain open for a week.
They will be located at:
· National Aquatic Centre – Blanchardstown, Dublin 15 - D15HT9N
· Tallaght Stadium – Tallaght, Dublin 24 – D24FNK6
· Irish Town Stadium – Irishtown, Dublin 4 – D04KN77
· Aura Leisure Centre - Tullamore – R35A594
· HSE Phoenix Care Centre (car park), Grangegorman, Dublin 7 - D07VPTO
People who have no symptoms of covid and are within 5km of these locations can attend for a free test, while anyone with symptoms of Covid is being asked to phone their GP instead and not attend the walk-in clinics.
The walk-in test centres are being placed in areas where covid cases have been high.
The latest Local Electoral Area data shows Tullamore has the highest 14-day incidence rate per 100,000 population in the country.
At 483, it is over 2.5 times the national average of 158.3.
Liz Canavan from the Department of An Taoiseach says "increasing the number of people we test will help us better understand how and why the virus is spreading quicker in certain areas."
Ms Canavan says testing people with no symptoms will help to find positive cases earlier and allow these people to take the necessary action to protect others and help break chains of transmission.
