Routine contact tracing of air passengers who check optimistic for Covid-19 has ended, underneath new recommendation issued by the Well being Service Government (HSE).
In future, flight contact tracing will solely be carried out the place a threat evaluation by public well being officers signifies it’s essential.
Components that may give rise to contact tracing embody: greater than 10 unrelated circumstances on a flight, amongst individuals not travelling as a household or group; or affirmation of a “non-prevalent” variant of concern.
Contact tracing may be carried out if there’s a public well being concern, such because the publicity of extremely susceptible teams, or a excessive burden of signs amongst circumstances, in accordance with an up to date information on public well being recommendation from the HSE’s Well being Safety Surveillance Centre.
The observe of routinely tracing contacts of circumstances who’ve flown into Eire was ceased final week with out announcement.
Beforehand, contact tracing was really useful for confirmed circumstances who had been on a flight whereas infectious. Normally, this concerned tracing contacts who had been seated inside two seats or rows of the case. The place three or extra circumstances had been recognized on a flight, officers would perform a threat evaluation, which might lead to the whole flight being contact traced.
Complete doses distributed to Eire | Complete doses administered in Eire |
---|---|
7,564,540 |
7,088,705 |
Confirmed circumstances in hospital | Confirmed circumstances in ICU |
---|---|
288 |
73 |
Reseeding
Research have proven worldwide journey performed a central position in reseeding circumstances in Eire in summer time 2020, together with new variants. In a single documented outbreak final yr, a single seven-hour flight to Dublin led to 59 circumstances in Eire.
Journey-related circumstances additionally drove the speedy surge in circumstances of the brand new alpha variant earlier than final Christmas.
The advice in opposition to non-essential worldwide journey was dropped final July, as extra individuals had been vaccinated. Regardless of the lifting of restrictions, solely 2 per cent of individuals report having travelled off the island of Eire within the earlier weeks, and three-quarters say they don’t intend to journey this yr.
Some 306 circumstances had been linked to journey final week, however there have been no travel-related outbreaks, in accordance with the most recent HSE studies. For the reason that begin of the present wave over two months in the past, 41 outbreaks have been linked to abroad journey, involving 149 linked circumstances. The most important single journey outbreak concerned 11 circumstances.
In the meantime, faculty employees unions say it’s “far too early” to loosen up Covid check and tracing protocols in faculties.
Unvaccinated kids
They had been reacting to plans mentioned by the Nationwide Public Well being Emergency Staff (Nphet) to permit unvaccinated kids who’re shut contacts of a confirmed Covid-19 case to stay in class from the top of September.
The elevated variety of circumstances amongst major faculty college students since faculties reopened is at the moment leading to about 1,200 kids being compelled to limit their actions daily.
Nicely-placed sources say the requirement for these kids to remain off faculty is prone to be eased from the week starting September twenty seventh, however it’s predicated on information round transmission in faculties not displaying a sudden or surprising surge.
The Irish Nationwide Academics’ Organisation (INTO) mentioned any modifications must be reviewed nearer to the mid-term break in October and launched thereafter.
Fórsa, which represents about 14,000 faculty employees together with particular wants assistants (SNAs), faculty secretaries and caretakers, mentioned new recommendation shouldn’t be carried out till there’s a constant sample of lowered infections in faculties and the broader group.