A Cork GP has warned against "unfiltered access" to testing for COVID-19.
It follows suggestions that walk-in testing should be made available.
Dr Nuala O'Connor, from the Irish College of General Practitioners, says it's important that access to testing is done through GPs.
Speaking on Newstalk Breakfast with Susan Keogh, she also warned against people having "tunnel vision" over COVID-19.
She said that as a GP she was receiving a lot more calls about COVID which she said is "to be expected" following the reopening of schools.
However, she advised that the vast majority of children who wake up with a temperature or a cough do not have the virus.
She added: "Only two out of every 100 people that we filter as GPS to be tested are going to test positive and it's even less for children."
Dr O'Connor said the most important thing is the turnaround for testing but that it was important to ensure that people with other illnesses are not being ignored.
She said: "We need to be very careful not to miss other conditions and not to get tunnel vision for COVID because it's important we assess people with symptoms.
"They could have more serious infections, if people do have symptoms they need to contact their GP for assessment."
Dr O'Connor added: "We have to be very agile with our testing, we still haven't reached our full capacity with it."
A Covid-19 Testing Centre, run by the National Ambulance Service, in Newbridge Co Kildare. Picture by: Eamonn Farrell/RollingNews.ieShe disagreed that walk-in testing without a GP assessment should be introduced.
She said: "It's not just actually about overwhelming the system because if somebody has symptoms of infection, they need to be assessed by a healthcare professional because most of these don't have COVID.
"What we don't want to do is miss non-COVID disease.
"If you're concerned about your child, going up and getting a COVID test is not the answer.
"We can't have unfiltered access to healthcare. GPS have always been the gatekeepers of that.
She added that what GPs provide is "a lot more advice than just walking in and getting a test".
Dr O'Connor said: "It's more than just the test, it's the evaluation as to whether somebody needs a test and if they don't, then what else is causing their symptoms."
Rise in cases 'concerning'
She said that with regard to the increasing figures of people testing positive for COVID-19, "any rise in numbers is concerning".
She added: "We all have to learn how to live our lives, it's just differently how were going to live them for the next year or so."
"I think we need to move away from trying to create fear in people but to create awareness of what we can do.
She said we need to focus on the "very simple" things which we can do to help combat COVID-19.
Dr O'Connor said there is "a definite problem in Dublin, both city and county at the moment" with regard to the high number of cases.
She echoed the comments of the Acting Chief Medical Officer Dr Ronan Glynn that if people in Dublin "do not take positive action", the numbers are likely to double in the next 14 days.
