Athlone pop-up test centre extends to 15k

People living within 15k of the Athlone Regional Sports Centre can now attend the Pop-Up Covid Testing Centre at the Regional Sports Centre.

The change in distance came into effect today, Saturday, at 1pm.

Yesterday, Friday, in its first day of operation, 349 tests were conducted.

he temporary initiative is being set up at the Athlone Regional Sports Centre, on the Ballymahon Road, and will operate for five days, from 11am to 7pm each day.

The HSE said the testing service would be restricted to people living within 5km of the Regional Sports Centre.

The centre will be in operation for five days from 11am to 7pm.

It's aimed at people who do not have symptoms of Covid-19 but would like to be tested, and the HSE said the aim was to "break chains of transmission" by identifying more asymptomatic cases and getting those people to take action to prevent the spread of the virus to others.

People who do have symptoms are being asked to not attend the walk-in clinic but to self-isolate and phone their GP, who will advise them if they need a Covid-19 test.

People attending for the free walk-in Covid-19 testing service must be 16 years old or over, and must provide a form of ID, such as a passport, driving licence, public services card, age card, travel pass, student card, or bank card.

WATCH VIDEO OF THE CENTRE OPERATION