Donnelly says he’s been assured that the HSE lead-tracking backlog issue ‘won’t happen again’

HEALTH MINISTER STEPHEN Donnelly has said the HSE has assured him that the problems that have arisen that have caused people who test positive for Covid-19 to identify themselves and contact their own close contacts “will not return to happen”.

“For a short period, demand outpaced supply,” he said this morning. “I’d rather it didn’t happen … I’m sure it won’t happen again because of the HSE.”

Speaking to RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, the health minister said the number of people employed in contact tracing will double in the next four weeks to 800, and that the HSE now has the capacity to track 1,500 positive Covid cases a day. .

On Tuesday night it emerged that the HSE would be asking more than 2,000 people who tested positive for Covid-19 on Friday, Saturday and Sunday to alert their own close contacts that they would need a test due to the “unprecedented pressure” in Ireland. contact tracking system.

The HSE said it would send a text message to 2,000-2,500 people yesterday, asking them to inform their own close contacts that they should restrict their movements and contact their GP “immediately” to arrange a test.

Donnelly described the decision to ask patients to trace their own contacts as “unique” to his colleagues at Fianna Fáil at last night’s parliamentary party meeting.

There was growing outrage in government circles yesterday that ministers, senior officials and the Taoiseach first learned about the problem of contact tracing through the media.

Donnelly said this morning that it was an operational decision made by the HSE given the high number of new cases.

“People have been incorrectly saying that the contact tracing system has gone down,” he said. “He absolutely hasn’t.”

The minister said he “had no problem” in apologizing to those affected, but defended the testing regime in this country.

“The HSE is working around the clock and has established one of the highest testing rates in the world,” he said.

In the same interview, Donnelly was asked about the rising rates of Covid-19 in Cavan, in particular. The county now has an incidence rate of more than 1,000 per 100,000, the highest in the country.

The minister said it was partly due to the county’s location next to Northern Ireland, which has a high spread of the virus.

However, while he did not mention any sports organizations, he said there were “post-game celebrations that shouldn’t have happened [that] it helped spread the virus. ”

He said it is hoped that the Level 5 lock in place as of today would flatten the curve again and allow the country to return to Level 3 restrictions in December.