Key workers from Fermanagh, outside of Health and Social Care staff, will have to travel to Londonderry, Craigavon or Belfast if they want to avail of testing it can be revealed.

Health Minister, Robin Swann, announced a raft of new Covid-19 testing guidelines in the past number of days. Included in this is a UK-wide staff testing programme has now been extended to cover key workers in other sectors as well as those in health and social care.

Those workers now eligible for testing according to the Public Health Agency are: Those necessary to enable the critical national infrastructure to continue to operate (e.g. utility, transport sectors)

Those necessary to support the health and wellbeing of the community directly (e.g. funeral directors, refuse collectors, staff delivering key medical, energy, utility, transport and food supplies, food production, agriculture and food sectors, or supply pinch points)

The Department stated that for those additional key workers wishing to avail of a test that: “This testing is available at three drive-through locations in Northern Ireland – SSE Arena car park; City of Derry Rugby Club; Craigavon MOT centre.”

The Impartial Reporter has asked the Department if there are plans to increase the number of regional tests centres to include a test centre in the South West but at the time of going to press there was no clarification on this issue.

At present across the UK there are 41 regional test centres with the UK Government making a commitment to reach 50 test centres.

The expansion in testing across Northern Ireland also includes surveillance testing in general practices and hospitals, as well the increased testing in care homes.

In relation to testing in GP practices this has not, as of yet, been implemented in any part of the Western Health and Social Care Trust.

On Tuesday of this week the Chief Medical Officer revealed that this testing has begun in “spotter practices” and that “13 practices in Belfast and the South Eastern Trust area went live this week” and that this will be “gradually rolled out across the other 26 practices across Northern Ireland.”

On the issue of testing Minister Swann said: “Testing has always been a critical part of our pandemic response. It has been deployed for different purposes as this Covid-19 pandemic has evolved.

“We are working with a number of key stakeholders and delivery partners across the HSC system, local universities and industry to further expand testing capacity across Northern Ireland.”

The Minister also warned against complacency and said that testing in itself is only part of the solution moving forward: “Testing is not and should never be regarded as a silver bullet. It does not trap the virus or halt its spread. But it is a vital part of our weaponry and will continue to be so.”

The Minister explained that the increased survelliance testing was a way of finding out how the virus is acting in the community:

“Our approach includes targeted testing of patients in particular health and care settings, as well as testing in the community for surveillance purposes.

“It is important to reassure patients selected for surveillance testing that this does not necessarily mean they are suspected of having Covid-19 infection. Surveillance testing involves sample testing across groups of patients to help us understand the virus and track its activity.”