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 HSE’s National Lead for testing and tracing, Niamh O’Beirne this afternoon

This afternoon.

Dr Steevens’ Hospital, Dublin.

HSE weekly briefing

Niamh O’Beirne [HSE National Lead for testing and tracing] said “we are in surge, exceeding 20,000 tests per day.”

She said the positivity rate over the last week was 5.9% across community test centres. Yesterday it was 7.8%, she added.

Ms O’Beirne said “at some sites it’s as high as 15%”.

She said the number of close contacts is “around four per person”.

She urged people to “take the calls from contact tracers and give all of your contacts”.

“You need to give all of the names so that we can text them regularly and so that they can be referred for testing.”

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Leah Farrell/Photocall ireland