By Joleen Murphy
Health experts say Ireland’s walk-in test centres are helping to drive down Covid case numbers.
It comes after the country reported just 303 new virus cases yesterday, the lowest daily number this year.
Since March, walk-in test centres have been popping up in areas across Ireland with high Covid case numbers.
The centres are open for those who are asymptomatic, with the hope being they will help stop people who have no Covid symptoms from unknowingly spreading the virus.
Dr Elizabeth Ryan, a lecturer in immunology at the University of Limerick, says this strategy appears to be working.
"It's the vaccines but it's also the testing and really trying to root out those asymptomatic cases.
"Having these pop up test centres for people who don't have the symptoms are being tested, that is a really important contribution aswell."
The HSE said that since the end of March, the walk-in centres have already detected 600 Covid cases that wouldn’t have been found otherwise.
Waterford's new walk-in test centre is opened it's doors on Saturday 10th of April.
The clinic, purpose is to identify cases in people who are showing no symptoms, is operating from WIT College Street Campus.
It's one of six new Covid test centres that opened around the country over the weekend and will operate between 11am and 7pm, Saturdays to Wednesdays.
Waterford TD and Junior Minister, Mary Butler says this will help in the fight against the virus.
"They are seen as an additional tool in the fight against the spread of Covid-19.
"It is an oppurtunity to find cases that may not come to light.
"We know that a lot of people are asymptomatic and they don't know that they have the virus
"This will be a great oppurtunity for people in Waterford to get a test and a result very quicky."
So far, 635 cases of coronavirus have been detected at walk-in centres across the country.
