More than 3,000 appointments made for Covid tests in Athlone in recent days

More than 3,000 people made appointments to get tested for Covid-19 in Athlone in the last nine days, according to figures provided by the HSE.

A pop-up Covid test centre opened at Athlone GAA Club on Monday, November 29.

The centre was originally due to be in place for five days only, but it has remained open each day since as a result of high levels of demand for PCR tests.

Figures provided to the Westmeath Independent by the HSE showed that last Saturday was the busiest day so far at the Athlone facility, which saw 436 appointments for tests that day.

The daily figures for the number of Covid test appointments in Athlone were as follows:

Monday, November 29 - 250

Tuesday November 30 - 286

Wednesday, December 1 - 372

Thursday, December 2 - 434

Friday, December 3 - 435

Saturday, December 4 - 436

Sunday, December 5 - 350

Monday, December 6 - 407

Tuesday, December 7 - 361

When asked how long the Athlone test centre would now remain in place, HSE spokesperson Hazel Gavigan replied that it "will continue to operate while testing demand remains high."