Dublin-based genetics company Plusvital said it has increased capacity for Covid-19 testing to allow it to complete 1,000 tests a day.
Plusvital began providing Covid-19 testing services for private hospitals and commercial partners in April using PCR (polymerise chain reaction) technology, which is considered the "gold standard" for Covid-19 tests.
The typical turnaround time from receipt of swab to confirmation of result is under six hours.
As demand increased, the company recruited five additional lab technicians and installed extra purification systems and PCR instruments to increase capacity and improve turn-around times.
Mike Shelly, CEO of Plusvital, said the company now has the capacity to process 1,000 tests a day.
"Our business has been built around genetic testing so when the urgent need for Covid-19 testing emerged it was a simple decision for us to offer our PCR capabilities to local hospitals," Mr Shelly said.
He also said he expects that Covid-19 will continue to demand significant testing resources for the next year to 18 months.
"Like everyone else we hope that this crisis passes sooner rather than later but, in the meantime, we expect a need for additional testing capacity at a national level," he said.
"We think it is appropriate that companies like ourselves help meet the demand of private sector businesses and for travel related testing as the national testing facilities are rightly focussed on meeting the ongoing community needs," he added.
