# PPE, Testing & Contact Tracing Costs



## Sophrosyne (10 May 2020)

ABOUT €1 BILLION is expected to be spent on personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Irish health service this year, HSE CEO Paul Reid has said.

Speaking at the HSE’s weekly Covid-19 briefing, Reid said there would also be significant costs associated with testing and contact tracing, but the cost of not investing would be much higher in the long run.

Reid said costs are “at a scale that nobody could have foreseen” a couple of months ago.

“Our projections are that those costs will be likely over a billion in a year,” he stated.

Reid said nine million masks are needed in Ireland every week. To put this many masks in context, he said it’s the equivalent of the height of 11 Liberty Hall (about 59m/195ft) buildings.


----------



## Purple (12 May 2020)

Sophrosyne said:


> Speaking at the HSE’s weekly Covid-19 briefing, Reid said there would also be significant costs associated with testing and contact tracing, but the cost of not investing would be much higher in the long run.
> 
> Reid said costs are “at a scale that nobody could have foreseen” a couple of months ago.
> 
> “Our projections are that those costs will be likely over a billion in a year,” he stated.


I'm sure that the savings the HSE are making in other areas (much lower demand for the usual services)  will go a long way to cover this.


----------

