A NEW Covid-19 assessment centre at Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry has been forced to close for two days.
The centre – the first of its kind – was launched on Wednesday, but has closed after 40 nurses either fell ill or have had to self-isolate.
The Primary Care Covid-19 Centre was established to manage the growth of Coronavirus cases in the community.
Dr Tom Black has said that the centre will be opened again on Monday.
Dr Black has called for the testing of staff in the healthcare service to be prioritised.
There are no testing facilities at the centre.
The Western Trust, which runs the centre, confirmed it had temporarily closed due to staffing issues.
The centre – which was visited by Health Minister Robin Swann when it opened on Wednesday – is due to re-open after the weekend.
Dr Black: said “On that particular rota, we have 40 nurses off with illness or self-isolation, but there is an additional pool of nurses ready to come in on Monday.”
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