Where does the data for "positive swabs" come from?
It comes straight from the
LaboratoryLocalTimeSeriesHistoricView dataset on the COVID-19 Data Hub.
How are positive swabs calculated?
Positive swabs for a given day are calculated by getting the difference between total positive swabs (the "Positive" column from the dataset) on that day and the day previous.
What is a positive swab, and why is the figure always different from confirmed cases?
Positive swabs are tests for COVID-19 that have returned a positive result when processed in labs around Ireland. These tests include retests of people who may already have COVID-19 (e.g. people in hospitals or long term care facilities), but the majority of these tests would be made up of people getting tested for the first time. Because of this, they are a good indicator of how many cases will be confirmed per day.
The "confirmed cases" figures are what you see reported in the media. These are positive swabs that have undergone a QA process by the HPSC to ensure that people getting retested are not counted twice.
When does this website update?
It updates whenever the official data source updates. This is usually around 3-4PM Monday to Saturday.