Seven new walk-in Covid testing centres to open this week

Seven new “walk-in, no appointment necessary” Covid-19 testing centres are due to open later this week, the HSE has said.

Three centres will open on Thursday for five to seven days to look for cases of the virus in the community, while another four sites will open on Friday.

These new temporary testing centres will replace the five pop-up walk-in test centres that opened last week. They are due to close at 7pm. About 11,500 people have attended across all five centres over the period.

The following centres will open on Thursday:

• City of Dublin Education and Training Board, Colaiste Eoin, Dublin 11 (for seven days)
• Quay Street Car Park, Balbriggan, Co Dublin (for seven days)
• Navan O’Mahonys GAA Club, Navan, Co Meath (for five days)

The following centres will open on Friday:

• Naas Racecourse, Naas, Co Kildare (for five days)
• Crumlin GAA Club House, Crumlin, Dublin 12 (for seven days)
• Athlone Regional Sports Centre, Athlone, Co Westmeath (for five days)
• Town Hall/Library Car Park, Ballinasloe, Co Galway (for three days)

Niamh O’Beirne, HSE National Lead for Test and Trace, said asymptomatic testing was another tool to stop the spread of the virus, as one in five people who have Covid do not display symptoms.

“These walk-in Covid-19 testing centres make it easier and quicker for people living in the areas, who don’t have symptoms of Covid-19, to get tested and ensure they are not able to spread the virus without realising it,” she said.

“Our pop up walk-in testing centres target areas where there is the greatest risk of disease at the moment. There was a very significant uptake in all five temporary centres that were launched last week, and we hope to continue this at our new walk-in testing centres.”