New emergency Covid-19 plan as testing for general population to be phased out by autumn

A new emergency Covid-19 pandemic plan would mean hundreds of National Ambulance Service staff deployed in mobile units countrywide to test the population in the event of a variant of concern or sudden spike in deaths.

The Cabinet was briefed on the plan on Wednesday after Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly accepted advice from the interim chief medical officer that Covid-19 testing for the general population will be phased out in the early autumn. Tests will only be given where a GP decides it is clinically necessary.

Sources confirmed Mr Donnelly unveiled a new emergency test-and-trace plan which would include: the National Ambulance Service performing up to 4,000 swabs a day at pre-agreed locations; a core team of 200 tracers who could make 1,500 calls a day; a rapid rollout of 300,000 antigen tests; private testing facilities brought on board; and modelling carried out by a new permanent group in the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC).

Under the emergency plan, there would be capacity for 100,000 PCR tests by week three and 150,000 by week eight, it is understood.

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After the deployment of National Ambulance Service staff, 30 “static” test centres would be set up. These would be managed by community health teams. Sources said an emergency would be effectively triggered if there was a variant of concern or development that meant GP practices were overwhelmed in which case the surge capacity would be used, using national ambulance service resources and private contractors. The plan has been put together by the HSE over recent months.

Ministers were also warned that not scaling back the test-and-trace service now ahead of the autumn could end up costing at least €500 million, way beyond the original budget for 2022 which was €157m.

Staff would be under-occupied and premises, which are becoming increasingly hard to come by, would have to be leased again, the meeting was told. The meeting heard testing and tracing at the scale previously seen is not needed now or in the foreseeable future unless there is a significant deterioration or a variant of concern emerges.

Ministers were also told a new permanent modelling group will be set up in the HPSC and the centre would get 89 new permanent staff as part of the move to the new longer-term system of disease surveillance. There will be 200 extra posts created in the National Ambulance Service and 200 short-term posts in the contact management programme.

As part of the phasing out of the national testing programme by the autumn, the antigen test programme previously supplied to healthcare workers identified as close contacts will also be discontinued and sources said that even for healthcare workers, Covid-19 testing will be provided only if clinically indicated.

Antigen tests

Routine serial testing in nursing homes will also be discontinued.

All antigen testing programmes, such as for parents who want tests for children in primary schools, will be discontinued. A large reserve of antigen tests will be kept by the HSE for use in surge and emergency situations.

Two of the four contact management centres will close in the coming weeks and there will be a scaled-down service in Dublin and Cork. It is understood that, at present, GPs can provide up to 14,000 tests a week.

The Cabinet was also brought through advice which will apply to people who think they might have Covid-19.

Under the new guidelines agreed by Cabinet, any person who has symptoms of Covid-19 or any other viral respiratory infection should stay at home and limit contact with others until 48 hours after symptoms have substantially or fully resolved.

Anyone of any age, regardless of underlying health conditions, who is worried about a deterioration should call their GP.

Anyone diagnosed with Covid-19 should stay at home for seven days and limit contact with others. Asymptomatic close contacts do not need to restrict their movements.