The Covid-19 pop up test centre located within the Athlone GAA grounds on the Ballymahon Road is no longer operational.
Having commenced swabbing on November 29, the pop-up test centre originally opened for an initial one week period but due to the increased prevalence of Covid-19 within the local community and surrounding hinterland, the HSE confirmed that the facility would remain in place “while testing demand continued to rise”.
Covid-19 testing numbers peaked during late December and early January, but the recent easing of public health restrictions has witnessed a fall off in personnel necessitating a swab at the pop-up test centre.
It is believed that Covid-19 PCR testing numbers had decreased to approximately 200 daily prior to the closure of the centre in recent days.
The Covid-19 test centre located within the grounds of St Loman’s Hospital in Mullingar is now the sole facility operating in Westmeath.