Sinn Féin MLA Colm Gildernew has said the high percentage of positive COVID-19 tests could point to a need for increased testing. 

Colm Gildernew said: 

“Testing capacity and access to testing has been an ongoing problem since the start of the pandemic. 

“I am deeply concerned by the trend this week of between 17% and 25% of all tests coming back positive. It is a clear sign we are not testing nearly enough. 

“International best practice suggests a positivity rate of 4% of tests carried out demonstrates a sufficient provision of testing. We are a long way from delivering the number of test we need to help tackle the virus based on this weeks trends.

“There are serious questions that need to be answered as to why local testing capacity has not been scaled up to secure additional local capacity. 

“We all know the importance of an effective testing and tracing system and I will be contacting the Health Minister to discuss concerns over testing capacity.”