Domestic test kits needed – Tully

The government is being urged to secure a domestic production line of COVID-19 testing kits so as to avoid shortages.
Sinn Féin Deputy Pauline Tully said that shortages of kits and changes to testing criteria, meaning many people don’t qualify for a test, are extremely worrying.
“The changes to testing criteria have meant that thousands of people who were previously scheduled for a test were told they would not now be tested,” she said.
“The World Health Organisation (WHO) has been clear in their advice that extensive testing is essential in stopping the spread of COVID-19. Having the capacity to test people has contributed to the low death rates in places like Germany and, without adequate testing, we cannot find out the true scale of the virus across the country,” continued the local TD, who also expressed concern about shortages of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) for frontline workers.
Deputy Tully is urging the government to liaise with the many medical device companies with facilities here in Ireland to produce domestic kits to increase testing capacity here.

Laboratory testing
“It is reported that Abbott Laboratories, who employ around 3,000 people across nine sites in Ireland, plan to manufacture 50,000 Coronavirus testing kits for the United States that can tell if someone is infected in as little as five minutes, and is so small and portable it can be used in almost any healthcare setting,” she suggested.
The recently elected TD also pointed to the potential within other companies in the region in this regard such as Randox in Antrim.
“We cannot continue to leave hostages to fortune and rely on imports from other countries, especially as there are disturbing reports in recent days that some countries are hijacking supplies of PPE and equipment if delivery planes stop over at their airports,” concluded Deputy Tully.