People are reminded that although restrictions are beginning to ease as normality begins to resume, it is still important to be aware of symptoms.
If you have any of these common symptoms of Covid-19, you asked to self-isolate and phone a GP straight away.
Your GP will then tell you if you need a free test.
Common symptoms of Covid are:
- A fever or high temperature above 38 degrees Celsius.
- A new cough -this can be any kind of cough, not just dry.
- Shortness of breath or breathing difficulties.
- Loss or change to your sense of smell or taste – this means you’ve noticed you can’t smell or taste anything, or things smell or taste different to normal.
As Covid symptoms are very similar to cold and flu symptoms, people are advised not to take any chances and get tested.
Covid testing has been affected by the cyberattack on the HSE as GPs struggled to book tests for their patients.
However, the HSE tweeted that all test centres are currently facilitating walk-in testing, and anyone with symptoms or close contacts of confirmed cases should present at the test centres.
The tweet said: "Anyone of any age who needs a Covid-19 test can get a test without an appointment. Those with symptoms and close contacts should go to one of these centres for their tests."
It can take up to 14 days for symptoms to show, and some people may not have these symptoms at all.
Early diagnosis from your GP means you can get the medical care you need and avoid spreading the virus to others.
People are advised to remain cautious and to continue to abide by restrictions and social distancing guidelines.
This comes after health officials confirmed on Wednesday that 503 more cases of COVID have been recorded in Ireland.
There are currently 101 patients being treated in hospital for COVID, with 38 being treated in ICU.
Speaking on Wednesday, Taoiseach Micheal Martin said Ireland has hit around 280,000 vaccines over the past week and is on track to administer a million vaccines in the month of May.
