CEO Paul Reid said labs processed almost 62,000 tests across 46 labs last week with the average positivity rate at 1.3% and the median turnaround time is 2.2 days from test referral to completion of contact tracing.
Several hundred people are being sought for the roles, which will include part time work and will be available over seven days. — RTÉ News September 3, 2020 He said if someone does not get their results within three days they should contact their GP to find out what the issue is and to get their result.
Dr Henry said young people are not immune to Covid-19 and referred to junior doctor Owen O'Flynn's account of his experience of having the virus. He urged older people to continue to be aware of the threat of the virus, but said it is an underlying illness, rather than age in itself, that is the greater risk factor for serious infection or illness.
The expert group said the epidemic is growing very slowly in many counties across Ireland and while most recent cases have involved young people, an increase has been reported in cases among older and vulnerable age groups. Chair of NPHET's Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group, Professor Philip Nolan, said the incidence among older people was rising.
Nursing Homes Ireland has urged people visiting nursing homes to maintain "heightened vigilance" and to be mindful of contacts with people who would be in nursing home settings.