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Coronavirus testing for health workers started in Belfast on Saturday just days before the expected surge of cases.<\/p>\nCoronavirus testing for health workers started in Belfast on Saturday just days before the expected surge of cases.<\/p>\n
Staff were arriving at the car park of the SSE Arena throughout the day for appointments to be tested using kits from the diagnostic company Randox.<\/p>\n
It came as the Ambulance Service announced a new protocol ahead of the peak of Covid-19 cases which is expected in the coming days.<\/p>\n
A new level of escalation will include a specific Covid-19 protocol to categorise 999 calls.<\/p>\n
It will involve specific questioning of patients for coronavirus symptoms so crews can prepare with the appropriate personal protective equipment.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs the demand on ambulance services increases, this protocol also enables NIAS to ensure that all patients with immediately life-threatening and serious conditions, whether or not they are related to Covid-19, will be prioritized for the most immediate response,\u201d the NIAS statement continues.<\/p>\n
\u201cRegrettably, it may be necessary to withhold an ambulance response to calls and deal with some calls through triage.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese will be calls which have been assessed as less serious in nature and do not need an ambulance response.<\/p>\n
\u201cNIAS apologizes to any patients who may find themselves in this situation but we would ask for your understanding in advance.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are exceptional circumstances requiring exceptional measures.<\/p>\n
\u201cNIAS will continue to monitor and review our response capacity and will react to any improvement in the situation without delay.\u201d<\/p>\n
The number of people who have died in Northern Ireland after contracting coronavirus has risen by eight to 56, health officials said on Saturday.<\/p>\n
In their daily update the Public Health Agency said testing had resulted in 94 new positive cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the region to 998.<\/p>\n
The latest figures came after Friday saw the highest number of deaths in one day announced with 12.<\/p>\n
So far Belfast has seen the majority of cases, following by the Lisburn and Castlereagh council area while Causeway Coast and Glens have seen the fewest.<\/p>\n