Roughly two million rapid antigen tests are ready to be rolled out to close contacts, after the Government announced the new measure yesterday.
It comes as 2,399 cases were reported yesterday, the highest daily total since late January during a strict lockdown.
The tests will be sent to in the post after the Government announced the new measure yesterday.
But DCU Professor of Health Systems, Anthony Staines, antigen testing is not a single solution to bring Covid 19 under control by itself.
"We keep looking for a single magic bullet: 'we'll do antigen tests that will fix everything, we'll do booster shots that will fix everything.'
"All these things are useful, they all have a part to play.
"But the truth is we need to do a bunch of things to bring case numbers down.
"At the moment I would be concerned about what might happen at Christmas."
