C-TRIC lab in Derry part of consortium working to scale up COVID-19 tests, Arlene Foster confirms

First Minister Arlene Foster said the Altnagelvin-based laboratory was among several institutions trying to identify ways of increasing the number of tests being carried out.

“We have seen a great collaboration between industry, academia and people wanting to come to us in government to say, ‘How can we help?.’

“A consortium that includes Queen’s, Ulster University, C-TRIC in Londonderry and Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) is looking at how to scale up diagnostic testing, for example. Randox and Deloitte are looking at a UK-wide initiative on staff testing.

“The SSE Arena is part of that UK-wide staff testing, and it is really good to see that,” said Mrs. Foster, during a briefing of the Stormont Ad Hoc Committee on the COVID-19 Response.

During the session Foyle MLA Martina Anderson raised concerns about testing for carers in Derry.

“The SSE Arena and C-TRIC in Derry were mentioned as places where carers in residential care homes who have symptoms may be tested. Unfortunately, vulnerable residents who have symptoms in those homes have not yet been tested,” she said.

She added: “People are crying out for community testing, as you know yourselves. Across the North people demand that we take that forward.”

The Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill said: “Work has been done on rapidly ramping up the scale of testing.”

She said the aim of the Executive was to move towards that position, and that this was where the north needed to be.

“You can look at examples around the world of how this has been done successfully.”