Ireland

Two Covid-19 testing facilities opening at Dublin Airport for passengers and general public

Passengers and the general public will be able to take either a drive-in or walk-in test at Dublin Airport
Passengers and the general public will be able to take either a drive-in or walk-in test at Dublin Airport Passengers and the general public will be able to take either a drive-in or walk-in test at Dublin Airport
By James Ward and Press Association

Two coronavirus testing facilities will open at Dublin Airport on Thursday November 19.

Passengers and the general public will be able to take either a drive-in or walk-in test.

Testing capacity will be up to 12,000 per day, but this will soon be increased to 15,000 per day, according to the Dublin Airport Authority.

Testing facilities will be operated by healthcare firms Randox and RocDoc, and both PCR (polymerase chain reaction) and LAMP (loop-mediated isothermal amplification) testing will be available, with prices starting at 99 euro.

DAA managing director Vincent Harrison said: "We have been keen to provide testing at Dublin Airport for some time and the Government's recent decision to grant planning exemption, which we strongly welcome, will enable two testing facilities to open this Thursday."

There is fresh demand for travel-related Covid-19 testing, following the introduction of the EU traffic light system in Ireland and across Europe.

Several countries now require travellers to have had a negative Covid-19 test prior to their journey.

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Mr Harrison said the opening testing facilities at Dublin Airport was "a very positive step to help people travel safely and meet emerging rules both at home and abroad".

The State is advising the public to "exercise a high degree of caution" if travelling to countries covered by the EU traffic light system.

The advice for other countries is to "avoid non-essential" travel.

Currently, people arriving in Ireland from "green" countries do not have to take extra precautions under the traffic light system.

Those coming from "orange" countries or regions will not have to restrict their movements on arrival if they have tested negative no more than three days prior to their arrival.

Passengers arriving in Ireland from so-called red countries currently must restrict their movements for 14 days.

From November 29, they can stop restricting their movements after five days, if they have a negative PCR Covid-19 test.