Athlone IT Covid test centre closes due to decrease in demand

People in Athlone and surrounding areas who need to be tested for Covid-19 are now being directed to Mullingar as a result of the closure of the testing centre which was operating on the grounds of Athlone Institute of Technology.

The drive-through testing centre at Athlone IT (entrance pictured above) was set up in April.

It closed at the end of last week, and it's understood that the testing infrastructure which had been in place there will be dismantled and removed by the end of this week.

In a statement issued to the Westmeath Independent, the HSE confirmed the closure of the Athlone test site by saying it had "consolidated its number of testing centres based on current demand".

It said testing requests for people in Westmeath and Longford were now being carried out in Mullingar, while tests for people in Offaly or Laois were happening in Tullamore.

Back in April, at the height of the crisis, the HSE had three testing centres operating on a rotating basis in Longford and Westmeath, while two testing centes were being rotated in Laois and Offaly.

According to figures published at the weekend, detailing county-by-county case numbers as of midnight on Friday, July 17, showed one new case of Covid-19 being recorded in Westmeath.

Since the outbreak began, there have been 677 confirmed cases in Westmeath, with the majority of these occurring in March, April and May.