There is building worry in Donegal with the waiting times GPs are having to wait to have patients tested for coronavirus.
Donegal Daily understands that a number of people suspected of having COVID-19 have waited up to a week to be tested.
At present Donegal has just one testing centre at St Conal’s Hospital in Letterkenny where people can drive-through.
However, they can only attend if their GP has been sanctioned to do so by the HSE.
We also understand that capacity for testing is just 50 tests a day at present.
This is expected to rise quickly as the spread of the virus happens in the coming days and weeks.
A total of 30,000 testing kits were delivered into the country this morning.
Although the HSE says it currently only has one test centre in Donegal, others are expected to open because of the sheer size of the county.
One Donegal GP who asked not to be named said testing must be ramped up and the speed at which suspected cases are being tested must also increase rapidly.
He said “A lot of good work is being done but we need to get people tested. This is going to spread very quickly from now on.
“We need to identify people with the virus and lock them down rather than simply leaving them in limbo waiting for a test.
“If someone knows they have the coronavirus then at least they will completely isolate themselves from everyone and hopefully recover.”
Donegal Daily has contacted the HSE with a number of questions concerning testing in Donegal and is awaiting a reply.
