*Staff at the Cusack Park COVID-19 drive-thru. Photograph: John Mangan
Home of the GAA in Clare, Cusack Park has been transformed into a COVID-19 testing centre.
Operational for just shy of two weeks, Cusack Park is now functioning as a drive-thru testing facility as opposed to the location of inter-county training sessions and club encounters.
With the capacity to operate from 8am to 8pm seven days per week, the facility runs in response to the number of referrals received.
Once individuals have their referral, they are able to drive into the county grounds where they are first presented with a medical kit and then swabbed by nurses who are wearing PPE.
Two nurses are deployed to each car upon arrival. One takes the swap while another obtains the medical details of each person.
There are three testing bays in Cusack Park allowing for individuals from three different vehicles to be swabbed at the same time.
After being swabbed, individuals continue to drive around Cusack Park in a lap before exiting the grounds.
Their sample is then contained and distributed to a laboratory where a result is revealed, the typical wait for a result according to health officials is between three to five days.
A spokesperson for the HSE told The Clare Echo they are very pleased with how the process is being handled in Cusack Park. “The facility is working very well and we would like to thank all involved especially Pat Fitzgerald and all at Clare GAA and Clare County Council for their support”.
All photographs by John Mangan
