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The Special Committee on Covid-19 Response is sitting today to examine the State’s response to the overall spike in cases of the virus.
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly, Acting Chief Medical Officer Dr Ronan Glynn and HSE Chief Executive Paul Reid will be among those appearing.
The committee will hold three sessions throughout the day and discuss issues, including testing and tracing, the ongoing lockdown in Co Kildare and the medical and scientific basis for it.
Members of the committee say they are eager to hear from Minister Donnelly about the Government’s strategy in dealing with Covid-19.
In his opening statement, Mr Reid will say that in the past two weeks there have been 1,269 cases compared to the same two weeks in July when the number was 264.
Mr Reid will tell politicians about ongoing efforts to increase testing and tracing capacity, that serial testing is ongoing in meat and food processing plants and serial testing programmes have been reintroduced in nursing homes.
Mr Reid will say that more than 750,000 tests have been completed and that last week the HSE recorded its highest weekly tests since April, at 55,000.
He will say that the HSE is finalising a new model for testing and tracing to set out a more permanent workforce and to implement further process and technology changes.
Mr Reid will tell members that criteria have been developed for the assessment of meat plant outbreaks to inform decisions regarding their closure and reopening.
He will say that the HSE has also worked with the Department of Education on similar criteria for responding to outbreaks in schools.
Mr Reid will tell politicians that while there has been an increase in cases, hospitals have not yet experienced a surge in admissions.
However, he will say that the HSE does have a plan in place to deal with an increase in hospitalisations.
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