Screening crucial – and how factories were hit

Why are we talking about testing again?

÷ Access to testing is critical if we are to handle the virus. A recent surge in cases, especially in meat factories and other workplaces underlines how importing an efficient testing regime is.

Why is it important?

÷ Until someone tests positive or negative for the virus there is no way of confirming they have Covid or proving they don’t. Until people with symptoms are tested others are depending on them to act responsibly, to self-isolate and not do things like attend work or go shopping and risk potentially spreading the illness. But if there are delays accessing tests the risk of spread increases if people are not being responsible. Some people may also feel the need to take risks, especially if they only develop mild symptoms, as they need to work, or must perform everyday tasks where the virus can spread.

Is there a delay with tests?

÷ Not at the moment, but it is hard to say with certainty that the country is in a place to cope with another surge of the virus. When it was at its worst earlier this year the HSE set a target of doing 15,000 daily tests. This was never met.

So why are meat factories at the centre of this?

÷ There is certainly an issue about proximity and the numbers of people working together in these plants. In some cases the nature of the work also makes social distancing in confined spaces difficult.

There must be more to it than that?

÷ Unions say there is. They have complained about the conditions some staff are working in at some plants and have concerns about overcrowding. The industry says it is not at fault for the Covid-19 clusters, saying that these can be attributed to the fact they are seen to be an essential service that stayed open during lockdown and cases of the virus started outside factories before being carried in. Politicians have been expressing concern about the living conditions in which some of these workers find themselves — such as shared or crowded accommodation — where the virus can be very troublesome.

So what are the numbers like in the locked-down counties now?

÷ The huge jumps we saw at the start of the month have stalled, but the surges were significant. In Offaly there have been more than 100 positive cases this month. In July the county had averaged one positive case per day. There have been 50 cases in Laois this month alone — a 17pc increase on where the county was in July. Kildare has seen the biggest increases. There have been more than 100 cases there already in August.

So when are they going to get out of lockdown?

÷ Initially the restrictions are in place for two weeks, so everyone in Laois, Offaly and Kildare will hope to have these lifted by next week, but during a council meeting on Zoom in Offaly last week councillors said they feared the restrictions would remain in place longer. Some blamed the Government for allowing an increase in cases to happen and said they opposed the lockdown but said would obey it. A decision on what happens next will be made this week.

And what’s this about colour-coded counties?

÷ Basically different colours will be applied to different regions depending on how it is coping with the coronavirus. The system is a bit like a weather warning but for Covid. The plan is to get the country to a blue phase — they think green is too optimistic a colour for us to use until we actually get a vaccine. As cases get worse regions will be labelled yellow, orange or red, depending on how many cases there are.