Health Minister Robin Swann visits COVID-19 pod at Altnagelvin Hospital today
The assessment centre in Derry will operate at the out-of-hours Western Urgent Care building at Altnagelvin.
Cases will be assessed by GPs and the most seriously-ill patients will then be transferred to specialist wards.
This afternoon Health Minister Robin Swann travelled to the hospital to meet staff and Dr Tom Black of the BMA.
Dr Nichola Herron, told BBC Radio Foyle there was “absolutely no testing facilities” there.
“Even the patients that are very unwell in the centre, they will not be getting tested there,” she said.
Officials stress that they are not for walk-ins.
People have been encouraged to phone their GP as usual.
Health Minister Robin Swann meets Dr Tom Black of the BMA
The Altnagelvin centre is one of the first to open in the North of Ireland.
They allow assessments for coronavirus to be moved away from normal GP practices.
Dr Herron added that “it became very apparent it was not safe bringing people with covid type symptoms into the health centre for assessment”.
Dr Tom Black from the British Medical Association said it was hoped 13 such centres would be operating within a week.
The centre at Altnagelvin Hospital will be the “middle ground” for the moderate to severe cases, Dr Black said.
