Almost 3,000 coronavirus tests are now being carried out every day.
That’s according to a member of the National Public Health Emergency Team, who says he’s confident testing capacity won’t be a barrier to lifting some restrictions next month.
Chairman of the Coronavirus Expert Advisory Group, Cillian De Gascun, says testing levels are improving;
"There is still a global pandemic, there will be still pressure on supply chains but I think we have enough diversity and robustness in the system and contingency as well, that by the time May 5th comes we won't be in a position whereby the testing prevents us and contact tracing prevents us being able to lift restrictions."
Nursing Home Testing
Nursing homes that haven't so far had clusters of Covid-19, are to have residents tested by the HSE.
It's part of a co-ordinated nationwide effort to see how prevalent the virus is in community residential settings.
A further 41 people have died after contracting the virus, bringing the death toll to 406.
Of those, 187 occurred in nursing homes.
