To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) reports that 58 per cent of Roma, and 43 per cent of Travellers, who have been tested for COVID-19 in Ireland have had a positive result, and (2), plans by the government of the Republic of Ireland to set up a mobile unit to test and treat marginalised groups in inner cities, with rapid delivery of test results; and whether they have any plans to set up similar facilities in the UK.
Answered on
30 July 2020
We are keen to learn from examples of best practice wherever they exist and the Department will continue to work with other countries throughout the crisis and beyond.
We are developing “prototypes” to pilot equal access to testing using existing local authority networks. The learning from these pilots will be disseminated to all local authorities in order to establish a national framework to support groups such as the Roma, Gypsy and Traveller communities.
We are also setting up a series of local testing sites to make testing easier to access for those without digital or vehicle access. 11 are operational as at 14 July 2020.