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The Irish Times learned that Mater Hospital in Dublin is the unidentified hospital that reported hundreds of Covid-19 cases up to six weeks late.
The 244 cases of the Mater’s occupational health department cover the period from March 16 to May 12, according to an internal note from the Health Department.
The hospital, which is the state’s leading infectious disease hospital, insists that it has met all of its reporting requirements, although it says the data may not have been “accurately captured.”
A hospital reported hundreds of cases of the virus this week, although some date back to mid-March, the National Public Health Emergency Team briefing on Thursday was reported.
At the briefing, the medical director, Dr. Tony Holohan, said that NPHET had just learned that a hospital had reported several hundred cases of Covid-19.
Dr. Holohan, who declined to name the hospital, said NPHET was trying to establish the full facts.
He declined to say if there would be consequences for the hospital and said he did not know if contacts in the cases involved had been traced.
The Mater says that contact tracing has been completed in all 244 cases.
The additional cases accounted for more than half of the 426 new cases of the disease reported by NPHET on Thursday.
Contacted by The Irish Times, a Mater spokeswoman said: “The Mater Hospital has reported all cases of Covid-19 positive results to the relevant authorities on a daily basis. At all times, Mater Hospital provided the information the HSE required and complied with all legal requirements to report infectious diseases.
“All of this information is correct and up to date. We are working with the HSE to understand why the data provided may not have been accurately captured.
“Mater Hospital has also conducted a comprehensive follow-up of contacts on each staff member who tested positive for Covid-19 through our occupational health department in line with best practices.”
More than 300 Mater staff members tested Covid-19 positive and another 1,500 self-isolated after follow-up contacts.
Under the disease reporting rules, a physician must notify you “as soon as you become aware or suspect that a professionally assisted person suffers from or is an infectious disease carrier.”
In addition, there is a requirement to give “immediate preliminary notification” to a medical health officer for certain specific notification diseases, including Covid-19.
More to follow.
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