The entire population of a Roscommon village has been tested for COVID-19 as part of a pilot programme for rapid results testing.
The 150 residents were tested at the church car park in Lecarrow, near Lough Ree, after it became a temporary pop up centre over four Saturdays.
Villagers received their results from the Antigen tests in just 15 minutes which were delivered via the Health Passport app, which was followed by a phone call from the on-site doctor.
Funding for the project came from the company ROQU.
The group said over 1,000 rapid tests were carried out during the six-week trial period with seven positive cases detected.
Fr Ray Milton, Parish Priest in Lecarrow, Roscommon, said: “I was a participant, along with a significant number of people from our community.
“While continuing to observe all the protocols, people felt safe in the community knowing that other members of the community were tested.
"The trial has given a great degree of confidence back to people and the feedback has been wonderful.
Robert Quirke, CEO of ROQU Group, said: “This trial was very much led by the local community and they engaged at every level from sourcing a suitable location to scheduling the testing at times that facilitated everyone.
"By working with the Lecarrow community, we have been able to stress-test how the screening system works in the real world and it has been very reassuring for the local families.
"It has demonstrated the need to bring people together to support each other during this time.”
