Government to seek agreement with chemists to roll out subsidised antigen tests

Ministers hope the measure could help to minimise the chance of further restrictions before Christmas

The government is hopeful that the public take-up of subsidised antigen tests could mirror the previous response to other public health measures such as mask wearing and social distancing. Picture: RollingNews.ie

The government is planning to hold talks with pharmacists about the rapid rollout of subsidised antigen tests to counter the rise in Covid-19 infections.

A public information campaign has also been prepared by the HSE to advise the public on the best use of the tests to guard against Covid-19 infections.

While no decision has been made on what discount to provide on the average €8 cost of an antigen test, the government is planning ...