The HSE has apologised to people left waiting for COVID-19 test results.

It comes after health officials confirmed that people outside of priority groups have been waiting up to ten days for a result.

On Newstalk Breakfast this morning, the Health Minister Simon Harris said the Government was working to “beef up” testing capacity across the country.

He said issues with testing capacity would last for another week to ten days.

The Taoiseach Leo Varadkar meets with CRC Key worker Daiva Coghlan in one of the COVID-19 Clinic rooms in the Citywest Hotel, 01-04-2020. Image: Leon Farrell/Photocall Ireland

This afternoon, the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said global shortages of essential resources mean some delays were unavoidable.

“The current major cause of delay is a shortage of reagents,” he said.

“We would expect to have more reagents probably next week – but then there may become a shortage of something else and we need to be frank with people and honest with people about that.

“Because there is an international shortage of testing kits and reagents, we will run into delays from time to time.”

Deputy Assistant Secretary General at the Department of An Taoiseach, Elizabeth Canavan speaking to the media in Government Buildings, 26-03-2020. Image: Sam Boal/RollingNews

Earlier, Liz Canavan, Chair of the COVID-19 Senior Officials Group, said the HSE is doing everything it can to shorten waiting times for tests and results.

“Testing is being performed for public health as opposed to clinical reasons and patients waiting for results should continue to self-isolate for 14 days,” she said.

“The HSE continues to prioritise testing of health care workers and in-patients in acute hospitals."

She said officials were now beginning contact tracing of high-risk groups even before the tests results come back.

Meanwhile, two new labs have come online this week to shoulder some of the burden.

“The HSE has asked us to apologise to all of those waiting for test results and to assure the public they are making every endeavour to improve turnaround times with the current international constraints,” she said.

Leo Varadkar and Simon Harris have arrived to Citywest Hotel where they’re getting a tour of the HSE’s self-isolation facility which is excepting referrals from today pic.twitter.com/DwTZADgkj1

— Kacey O'Riordan (@KaceyORiordan) April 1, 2020

Meanwhile the Taoiseach joined Minister Harris at the opening of the new COVID-19 self-isolation and step-down facility at Citywest Hotel in Dublin today.

The facility has capacity to house 1,500 people and will be available to patients who need to self-isolate and can’t do so in their own home.

The first 15 patients are due to arrive at the facility today after receiving treatment in hospital.

There are plans for eight more of the facilities to open up around the country.

The Taoiseach Leo Varadkar speaking to media in the Conference Centre at the Covid-19 Isolation and Step-Down Facility at Citywest Hotel in Dublin, 01-04-2020. Image: Leon Farrell/Photocall Ireland

Speaking at the opening, HSE Chief Executive Paul Reid said centres will soon be open in Cork, Limerick, Galway, Sligo and Waterford.

“They will have a further 1,200 capacity with similar supports for communities,” he said.

“The vast majority of people don’t need acute care but they do need supports – so that is primarily what these facilities are for.”

He said patients will only be able to access the facilities if they are referred on by a doctor.