HSE chief Paul Reid has warned the supplies of antigen tests were coming under increasing pressure.
Warning the supply was “not elastic” he said there were enough tests to last for the rest of January and into February.
However, he warned that there ws a massive worldwide demand for the tests.
He revealed that last October up to 20,000 tests were being sent out weekly by the HSE.
HOwever, he wold RTE this number was now up to 350,000 per week with 60,000 being sent per day to people who were symptomatic or close contacts.
The public was using antigen tests “very effectively” and had taken the lead in “utilising them appropriately”, Mr Reid explained.
When asked about the portal to register positive antigen test results on the HSE system, Mr Reid said that the entire system for testing and tracing was “very complex” and to modify it to include antigen test results was taking time, and he hoped it would be ready by the end of next week, if not sooner.
How that information was utilised would be decided by Nphet, he added. The HSE was relying on the modelling from Nphet in its planning for rising figures, but it did not feel “like we’re at the peak yet”.
Mr Reid pointed out that cases of Covid-19 have risen 140 per cent in a 14-day period. Currently, of the staff out of work due to Covid-19, 25 per cent are nurses.
