The HSE has opened a walk-in test centre in St Aloysius College, Athlone, in response to the suspected Delta variant outbreak of Covid-19 cases linked to socialising by the river on the west side of the town on June 11.
The pop up test centre opened this morning and will remain operational until Saturday, June 26, from 10am to 4pm daily. This will be open to children and adults and those intending to avail of a Covid-19 test encouraged to bring personal identification.
The Department of Public Health in the Midlands is continuing to investigate cases of Covid-19 in Athlone which may be the Delta variant but are not yet confirmed by Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS ).
The relevant cases are associated with socialising down by the river, on the west side, on Friday June 11. It is not yet clear how transmission occurred. It may be that social distancing advice was not adhered to and there have been reports of house parties that night.
Expressing concern, Dr Una Fallon, director of public health HSE midlands, noted that it was particularly difficult for the HSE to investigate or control such a socialised setting.
“We can have a school outbreak or a workplace outbreak and it’s very easy to engage with the stakeholders, receive a very precise list of who was exposed, identify close contacts, get them tested, track them, and put controls in place – there is a beginning, middle and end to the outbreak.
“People travel to and from locations together and we do have information that there were some house parties on that on that evening,” Dr Fallon stated.
The Delta variant is very transmissible and those who are not fully vaccinated may be at risk of infection. Those who are particularly vulnerable need to continue to protect themselves against Covid-19 until they have been fully vaccinated.
If you were socialising in Athlone on the evening of Friday, June 11, and you think you might have been exposed to Covid-19, please attend one of the HSE Covid-19 test centres. You can book a test on https://www2.hse.ie/conditions/coronavirus/testing/covid-19-walk-in-test-centres.html.
Reacting to this concerning news, newly elected Cathaoirleach of Westmeath County Council, Cllr Frankie Keena, has implored those who were in the vicinity of the west side river location on June 11 to present for Covid-19 testing.
“I am very concerned with regard to recent Covid-19 developments in Athlone and I would urge those who were present on the date noted, June 11, to come forward for Covid-19 testing at the walk-in facility now open in St Aloysius College.
“We must work closely with the HSE to control this particular outbreak of the virus. I do not wish to see any additional sanctions imposed on the people of Athlone and surrounding areas with the need to hasten roll out of the vaccination programme clearly evident,” Cllr Keena asserted.
