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Thousands of people who have traveled home from the UK for Christmas will be asked to get tested for Covid-19, whether they have symptoms or not.
Ps has been warned to remain on high alert for Covid-19 symptoms in some 30,000 people who have traveled here from the UK to Ireland in the past 14 days, Independent.ie has learned.
Anyone who has traveled from the UK will be asked to take the test five days after arrival, whether or not they have symptoms.
It comes amid growing concern over a new strain of Covid-19 that is 70% more transmittable and easier to catch.
The guidance issued to GPs tonight said that anyone who has arrived from the mainland UK in the past 14 days is advised to isolate himself, stay in his room and not mix with any other member of the home, leave the house or see visitors for a full 14 days after arrival.
This is because they could be incubating the new strain of coronavirus.
The Irish College of General Practitioners guide said the HSE will contact all of these people via text message with the contact details they put on their passenger locator forms.
They will also be advised to contact a GP or after-hours service to arrange a free COVID test, regardless of whether they have symptoms on day five after arrival or as soon as possible after that date.
These tests should be flagged on the PC’s internal link form for GPs so that they can be tracked and analyzed for the new strain of coronavirus.
Even if their COVID-19 test is negative or undetected, they must isolate themselves for the full 14 days.
“In particular, we are concerned about intergenerational mixing during the holidays and should not interact with anyone who is medically vulnerable in their circle.
“Many will have already taken a private test and regardless of whether it is negative or undetected, they must now go into self-isolation.
“We all need to be on high alert for people with symptoms who have returned from the UK and be very vigilant about infection prevention and control measures when assessing the possibility of providing care for them.
“If you refer someone to the emergency department or the hospital, remember to alert the front desk of their travel history.”
In a memo to GPs, HSE Clinical Director Dr Colm Henry said: “Over the past few weeks, a rapid increase in COVID-19 cases in London and South East England caught the attention of the public health authorities there, which led to improved epidemiological and virological investigations.
“Analysis of the viral genome sequence data identified that a large proportion of cases in this area of England belonged to a unique new phylogenetic group.
“While viruses are known and expected to constantly change through mutation leading to the emergence of new variants, preliminary analysis in the UK suggests that this variant is significantly more transmissible than previously circulating variants, with an estimated potential to increase the reproductive number (R) by 0.4 or more, with an estimated increased transmissibility of up to 70pc.
“At this time, there is no indication of an increased severity of the infection associated with the new variant. There is currently no evidence to indicate how far the new variant of the virus has spread outside the UK. However, given the scale of travel within the UK and Ireland at this time of year, it is reasonable to assume that there is a real risk that we will see cases here.
“Therefore, timely efforts are needed to prevent and control its spread. Attached is the update on the new SARS-CoV-2 variant with multiple spike protein mutations observed in the UK and interim advice on actions needed to all doctors, hospitals and public health personnel. “
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