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Covid-19: Rapid testing kits set for some NI workplaces

PA Media A woman using a coronavirus testPA Media
Rapid tests will help to prevent temporary closures of workplaces, says Robin Swann

Rapid coronavirus testing kits are being rolled out to employers in four key sectors in Northern Ireland.

They will be made available to those working in agri-food, manufacturing, essential retail and construction.

The tests will give results within half an hour, said the Department of Health.

The announcement of the workplace testing plan comes on the day Northern Ireland passed the mark of 600,000 people having received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.

Nearly a third of Northern Ireland's overall population, and about 42% of the adult population, have received a Covid-19 vaccine.

On Wednesday, eight more Covid-19-related deaths and another 147 cases of the virus were recorded in Northern Ireland.

A graphic containing statistics about coronavirus in Northern Ireland on Wednesday 10 March 2021: Total deaths - 2,087; Increase in the past day - eight; Hospital inpatients with Covid-19 - 212; Covid-19 patients in intensive care units - 29; Covid-19 patients on hospital ventilation - 19; Total of coronavirus cases in Northern Ireland since the start of pandemic - 114,176; New cases in the past day - 147; People tested for coronavirus in the past day - 1,710; Number of coronavirus cases in the past seven days - 1,216. Source: Department of Health

Speaking at the Stormont briefing on Wednesday, Health Minister Robin Swann said new technology made it possible to test for coronavirus on a greater scale, allowing the expansion of rapid testing in Northern Ireland.

The rapid tests would help to prevent temporary closures of workplaces, he said.

'Safe return to normal'

Matt Wills, the head of mass testing in Northern Ireland, described the workplace testing scheme - using lateral flow tests - as the "first step" in the expansion plan.

"[This] gives us the opportunity to... test people who do not display symptoms across a range of settings in Northern Ireland with the overall objective of enjoying a safer return to as normal a society as possible," he added.

Workplaces that have been prioritised to receive the testing kits include those:

  • deemed to be performing critical functions or delivering key services;
  • with more than 50 employees who cannot work from home;
  • which may have a higher exposure risk of infection for staff or customers

Guidance from the Department of Health is that anyone who gets a positive result from the rapid kit will have to isolate immediately along with their households and book a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test at their closest site to confirm the initial result.

If the PCR test is negative there will be no need to continue isolating.

A graph showing the number of people in Northern Ireland who have received a Covid-19 vaccine: First dose - 601,101; Second dose - 46,927

Mr Wills added: "Consideration will be given as to how it can be further expanded.

"This approach allows us to quickly identify positive cases and break the chain of transmission.

"But please don't forget asymptomatic testing is just another tool within a range of measures already in place - social distancing, hand hygiene and face coverings."

Mr Wills said testing kits had already been used in some school settings, at universities, for some frontline healthcare staff and among Translink workers.

Officials are considering which other sectors could be prioritised, he added.

More progress on vaccinations

More than one in five people vaccinated against Covid-19 so far in Northern Ireland have been healthcare workers.

Newly released figures show that just less than 125,000 people received their vaccines because of their status as healthcare workers.

The figures also indicate that about 45,000 people considered to be clinically extremely vulnerable have been vaccinated.

The numbers for vaccinations in care homes show that about 26,000 residents have received a jab, along with about 25,000 workers.

However, the figures do not indicate uptake rates meaning that it remains unclear as to how many people have so far declined a vaccine, who would otherwise be eligible to get one.

'Chief scientific adviser gap filled'

During the Stormont briefing, Mr Swann said that a "gap" created by the absence of Northern Ireland's chief scientific adviser has been filled.

Professor Ian Young has been on leave on health grounds since January.

Press Eye Prof Ian YoungPress Eye
Professor Ian Young is Northern Ireland's chief scientific adviser

Responding to a question from BBC News NI about the effect of absence on Northern Ireland's fight against coronavirus, Mr Swann said: "Our deputy chief scientific adviser [Prof Declan Bradley] stepped up into that role in regards to the absence when Prof Young went off on sick leave.

"So that gap has been filled."

On Tuesday Prof Young lost a court challenge to block a General Medical Council (GMC) disciplinary investigation into allegations that he failed to tell the family of a nine-year-old girl Claire Roberts about "failings" in her treatment.

Claire Roberts was one of five children whose deaths at hospitals in Northern Ireland were examined by the Hyponatraemia Inquiry.

Prof Young was not involved in the treatment of any of the patients.