Private COVID Testing

In many cases, if you are travelling abroad, a swab for Covid-19 must be carried out and certified. Typically, a PCR is required within 48 to 72 hours before departure and an antigen is needed within 24 to 48 hours before flying. The certificate needs to show that you are currently not infected and fit to fly.

Check the latest guidance and travel advice from the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs. The EU has introduced a traffic light system that requires pre-flight testing for individuals departing from several countries. You can view the latest travel restrictions for more info. Guidance is continuously changing so please check the travel requirements regularly.

1. On arrival a healthcare worker will ask you to wear a face mask, share your booking confirmation and confirm your identity.

2. During the test you will be asked to blow your nose. Then your throat and nose will be swabbed, and your test sample will be safely sealed and labelled for analysis.

3. After the test your sample will be sent to the laboratory. When your results are available, we will e-mail you the lab report and required travel/return to work documents and provide you with any advice required.

Close contact means spending more than 15 minutes within 2 metres of someone who tested positive for COVID-19. The 15 minutes can be all together or spread across 24 hours.

You may also be a close contact if you:

• Live or sleep in the same home as a person who has tested positive.

• Use a kitchen or bathroom in shared accommodation with a person who has tested positive.

• Are a sexual partner of a person who has tested positive.

When someone tests positive for COVID-19, their close contacts include people they were in close contact with in the:

• 48-hour period before they developed symptoms.

• 24-hour period before their test, if they did not have symptoms.

It does not include people they saw briefly. For example, talking to someone for a few minutes more than 2 metres apart.

The most common symptoms are:

• fever (high temperature - 38 degrees Celsius or above) - including having chills.

• dry cough

• fatigue (tiredness)

Symptoms can be like symptoms of cold, flu or hay fever. Less common symptoms include:

• Loss or change to your sense of smell or taste – this could mean they're completely gone or just different to normal.

• Nasal congestion (runny or blocked nose).

• Conjunctivitis (also known as red eye or pink eye).

• Sore throat.

• Headache.

• Muscle or joint pain (aches and pains).

• Different types of skin rash.

• Nausea or vomiting.

• Diarrhoea.

• Chills or dizziness.

Severe symptoms include:

• Shortness of breath or breathing difficulties.

• Loss of appetite.

• Confusion.

• Pain or pressure in the chest.

• Fever (high temperature – 38 degrees Celsius or above).

We provide Express RT-PCR Results by 7.00pm on the day of swabbing. Our Next Day RT-PCR Results arrive before 11:00am when swabbed before 1:00pm and before 4:00pm when swabbed after 1:00pm.

Our Rapid Antigen results and Certification for Travel can be provided in as little as 15 minutes.

It’s important to keep in mind, that it’s the sole responsibility of the patient to ensure they take the appropriate test at the correct date/time to satisfy their airlines/country of destination’s travel requirement.

COVID Screening Cork does not accept responsibility and cannot guarantee swab turnaround times as there may be unforeseen delays in the lab outside of our control.

PCR tests are ultimately the more accurate way to tell if you have COVID-19, but antigen tests are a great first line of defence. It's best to use PCR tests, rather than antigen tests, before higher-risk situations for you and others or when required, like before travelling to certain countries or hospital procedures.

PCR testing is much more sensitive than antigen testing. What this means is that with someone who has COVID-19, there is a greater chance that they will test positive by PCR than with the antigen test, or there are fewer chances of false-negative results, which can minimise the spread of COVID-19.

An antigen test is quicker but less reliable than a PCR test. In some cases, it may not detect the virus. This is why the advice is to do them regularly over a period of time.

PCR testing is much more sensitive than antigen testing and has a wider window of detection from the date of symptom onset. For someone who has COVID-19, there is a greater chance that they will test positive by PCR than with an antigen, and there are fewer chances of false-negative results, which can help you know quickly if you have COVID-19 and need to minimise its spread at home or in the workplace.

Because a PCR is so sensitive, it can detect very small amounts of virus material. This means that the test can continue to detect fragments of the SARS-CoV-2 virus even after you’ve recovered from COVID-19 and are no longer contagious. So you may continue to test positive if you've had COVID-19 in the distant past, even though you can’t spread the SARS-CoV-2 virus to others.

Prolonged infection in immunocompromised individuals can occur where they shed infectious virus for months. Also, healthy people can become reinfected. If you test positive for SARS-CoV-2 but you think you might have already recovered from COVID-19, you might be eligible for a Covid Recovery Certificate to enable you to travel or return to work.

You can request a certificate of recovery if you have had a positive COVID-19 result (Only Laboratory RT-PCR) and completed the current public health advised isolation requirements. Your certificate will remain valid for 180 days after the day you tested positive. You can supply us with your RT-PCR result, and our doctor can certify you for travel. If you would like to know more about the requirements and costs involved, please contact us.

You can change or cancel your booking via the confirmation email you received upon booking your appointment.

All payment, aside from the non-refundable €30.00 deposit is refunded on cancellation. The remaining €30.00 deposit can be used as a credit note for future bookings for up to 6 months.

The €30.00 non-refundable payment covers the cost of organising the patient file, lost staff time and other online service charges incur resulting from an individual booking.

Refunds can take up to 10 working days to reach your account from the day of cancellation. If you have not received your refund by then, please contact us.