Edenderry test centre to open in wake of school outbreak

A COVID-19 pop-up test centre is due to open in Edenderry this weekend in response to an outbreak of the virus in the area and which forced the closure of a primary school in the town earlier this week.

All classes at Scoil Bhride primary school moved online this week when 23 confirmed cases of Covid-19 were identified in the school.

In response to the outbreak, and to rising case numbers of COVID-19 in the greater Edenderry area, the HSE announced on Wednesday that it is to open a walk-in, no appointment necessary, COVID-19 test centre in the car park at Scoil Bhride Primary School over the Bank Holiday weekend.

The test centre, which will operate in conjunction with the National Ambulance Service, will be open on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday from 10am to 5pm each day for people without symptoms, and local Fine Gael Cllr Noel Cribbin has strongly urged as many people as possible to avail of a free COVID-19 test over the coming days.

“In particular I would appeal to people to spread the word to anyone living in the greater Edenderry area who might not be aware of the fact that this test centre is opening, such as those from other ethnic backgrounds” he said. “We all need to look out for each other and get the word out there that this free service is for everyone, and we should all avail of it.”

The COVID-19 walk-in test centre can be used by anyone aged 16 and over who lives in the Edenderry area and has not tested positive for COVID-19 over the past six months, Tests are limited to one per person, with those who need a repeat test being asked to contact their local GP.

No appointment is necessary to attend the Edenderry test centre, but those attending must bring photo ID and provide a mobile phone number where they can be contacted with the results of their test.

Meanwhile, Scoil Bhride remained closed throughout this week as the Department of Public Health Midlands continues to monitor developments closely following the outbreak.

In a letter sent to all parents and guardians, the HSE said it was monitoring the situation “very closely” and had carried out public health risk assessments over a two-day period following the outbreak.

“A large number of children and staff have been identified as close contacts of people with COVID-19, and this has meant a number of staff members are unable to work as they are close contacts. This has made it challenging for the school to maintain safe ratios of staff to pupils” the letter stated.

Parents were told that teaching would continue online for the next week, with face-to-face teaching expected to resume on Wednesday next, May 5.

The HSE has confirmed that the rising numbers of COVID-19 cases in the Edenderry area are from “a range of sources” including households, schools, workplaces and crèches. They added that “a few cases” are associated with a larger outbreak in the adjoining county of Kildare.

Niamh O’Beirne, The HSE’s National Lead for Testing and Tracing said they are seeing “increasing numbers of people” present to the walk-in COVID-19 testing centres. “We continue to work closely with Public Health teams across the country, the National Ambulance Service and Community Health teams to ensure that we establish these testing centres as quickly as possible once the need for them has been identified.”

“The Covid cases in Offaly as a whole, and in the Edenderry area, over the past few weeks have been very worrying, and the only way we can identify the source of these high numbers is by testing as many people as possible,” said Cllr Noel Cribbin, who once again reiterated his appeal to everyone in the greater Edenderry area to avail of the HSE’s free testing service over the next three days.