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Anger is rising in government circles today because ministers and top officials first heard about the issue of contact tracing through the media.
Due to the near collapse of the contact tracing system, it has also been revealed that a new feature will be announced shortly that will allow close contact of a confirmed case to organize their own Covid-19 test online.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin told Dáil this afternoon that the HSE or the Health Department did not inform him of the problem and that he found out when someone sent him a notice about it.
The HSE will ask more than 2,000 people who received a positive Covid-19 test result last week to advise their own close contacts that they will need a test due to “unprecedented pressure” on the company’s contact tracing system. Ireland for the past week.
The HSE said it will send a text message today to between 2,000 and 2,500 people who have been informed by text message of their infection, asking them to inform their own close contacts that they should restrict their movements and contact their GP “immediately. ” to arrange a date. proof.
Contact tracers typically contact the close contacts of infected cases to organize their analysis.
Speaking at the Dáil this afternoon, the Taoiseach acknowledged this, stating that “without a doubt, the contact tracing dimension of this has been under extreme pressure in the last few days and particularly over the weekend.”
Taoiseach said he learned of the problem when he “received a text message last night” with a link to the Irish Times article.
– Rónán Duffy (@ronanduffy_) October 21, 2020
During today’s leaders’ questions, the leaders of Sinn Féin, Labor and Social Democrats raised concerns about tracing contacts with the Taoiseach.
In response to Alan Kelly’s questions about when he was informed on the matter, Martin said he was only informed when he received a text message with the Irish Times article last night.
“I got a text message last night that included the Irish Times article, that’s when I first heard about it. So they didn’t inform me of this operational measure that the HSE took, ”he said.
Kelly said it was “extraordinary” that the Taoiseach found out in this way and wanted to know when the Minister of Health was informed.
Co-leader of the Social Democrats, Catherine Murphy, says she was “absolutely shocked” that the Taoiseach found out via text message.
“This is not a minor deal, he should have been aware of this, he should have been aware of how under pressure the system was,” Murphy said.
“He should have been continuously informed by the Minister of Health, who should have been fully aware of exactly where and when we were in terms of this process.”
It has been confirmed that Donnelly was not informed of the situation before the Cabinet, which met yesterday afternoon and did not discuss the issue, but more important questions remain as to why he was not informed by the HSE or his department.
A spokesman for the Health Ministry said: “The decision to ask a limited number of people to alert their own close contacts of their positive result over the past weekend was an operational decision taken by the HSE.”
The spokesman added that it was a “temporary measure.”
“The Minister of Health learned of this operational decision made by the HSE on Tuesday night. The HSE has reconfigured the call structure to handle 1,500 positive cases per day this week. The HSE continues to explore ways to improve the testing system. It will shortly introduce an important new feature that will allow a close contact to organize their own Covid-19 test online. “
However, several political sources have raised concerns about what would have happened if the Irish Times had not released the story last night, and what plan would have been put in place to tell people who did not know they were in contact with someone with Covid. -19.
The ministers have serious concerns about handling the situation, and one of them claims that they are not sure what happened, but that “it is not good.”
Several high-level people in the government do not believe that the HSE texting people is appropriate, and they are concerned that the person with Covid has a responsibility to contact their contacts. It has been observed that some of the people may be in the hospital and may not be able to send text messages to close contacts.
Due to the delay in contacting people, it has now been five days in which people could have tested positive, but people have not been told they have been exposed to the virus.
It is understood that the 2,000 people who will be contacted today could have between 6,000 and 8,000 close contacts in total.
Given these numbers, and the fact that the average close contact per person is around three people, some in the government fear that up to 24,000 to 30,000 people may be affected in total.
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Driving
While it is recognized that things can go wrong in a pandemic, how it is managed is key.
Questions are now being asked about why no quick action was taken over the weekend when the contact tracing system began to creak under pressure.
There are also concerns about why members of the Defense Forces were not brought in over the weekend to help with calls, as has been done in the past.
It has been suggested that a helpline should also be established as soon as possible to deal with the consequences and people’s concerns.
Opposition TDs are also seeking statements from the government or the health minister on the matter.
The questions that the government has to handle are: How many people went to school or work over the weekend or yesterday who were close contacts of confirmed cases and did not know? When will everyone be informed, and how will the HSE ensure that everyone is informed?
It is understood that ministers will seek answers to these questions as a matter of urgency due to concerns that it could lead to further outbreaks.
Level 5 restrictions take effect as of midnight tonight, which means that social contacts should be reduced thereafter, which could ease the pressure on contact tracing.
The decision to text the affected people is understood to have been a decision made by the HSE but was only communicated to the government after last night’s Irish Times article.
While testing capacity is 120,000 per week and response times satisfactory, some are puzzled that tracking capacity was not increased over the summer to cope with the expected increase in those showing up for testing.
– With a report by Rónán Duffy
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