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Brexit could jeopardize the tracing of contacts of coronavirus patients on the island of Ireland if the UK falls out of the EU without a trade deal by the end of the year, admitted the health minister of the Northern Ireland assembly.
Searching for contacts in the region is expected to resume next week, but it may face challenges if the virus, as likely, continues to threaten communities beyond the December 31 deadline for a Brexit trade deal, the said. local politicians.
Tracking license plates, flight passenger lists and coronavirus test results could be impossible unless the UK agrees to an agreement on its future relationship with the EU that includes security and data exchange agreements.
“What detail, what level of information do we share [in 2021] It has yet to be resolved, “said Robin Swann, Stormont’s health minister.
Data shared between the Belfast and Dublin authorities helped in February locate passengers on a plane that landed at Dublin airport who may have had contact with a resident heading north. Ireland and then tested positive for coronavirus.
Swann, a member of the assembly of the Social Democratic and Labor Party, asked Matthew Swann if this would continue beyond December in the absence of a trade agreement or an extension to the transition period.
“We will probably continue to be people looking for contacts, we will still move from Dundalk to Newry and Buncrana to Derry,” O’Toole said, referring to the border cities. “Is there a risk that if we leave the transition period without an agreement and is there legal uncertainty around our information governance framework that would jeopardize contact tracing, particularly in border areas?”
Swann replied that it had been identified as an issue under Operation Brexit’s Yellowhammer contingency planning, but that no action could be taken until they knew what form Brexit would take.
“This is new on this island, this is new in the UK, this is new in Europe and we look at how we really started to do this level of contact tracing, so when it comes to legalities, who has the information? Is it stored on your phone, is it stored in a central database? That everything has to be [worked out] right now, “he told the Stormont assembly.
“Let’s get it running and we’ll work the rest when we get to the end of the year and see where we are with respect to Brexit.”
Swann’s comments come as the European Commission tells the United Kingdom that there is little time to implement the Northern Ireland protocol that Boris Johnson included in the withdrawal agreement in January.
A technical note issued by Brussels put meat on the bones of the protocol and served as a reminder of the magnitude of the challenge facing companies and now health authorities in the face of a national health emergency.
After the first meeting of the specialized committee of EU and UK officials charged with implementing Northern Ireland’s rules, the commission said the exchanges “now urgently need to be followed by tangible measures.”
Andrew McCormick, a senior civil service official from Northern Ireland, was present at the meeting.
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