Government to ask for review of close-contact advice in light of pressure on services

No further restrictions on social or economic life are anticipated this week following discussions between Coalition leaders on Tuesday.

The leaders of Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and the Green Party met and reaffirmed the Government’s intention to reopen schools on Thursday.

It is understood that Micheál Martin, Leo Varadkar and Eamon Ryan did not discuss further restrictions, including placing limits on the number of households who can meet together indoors – currently limited to four in total.

However, the National Public Health Emergency Team will meet on Thursday to discuss advice to Government on dealing with the current wave of Covid-19, driven by the more transmissible Omicron variant.

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The Government will also ask for a review of the isolation requirements for close contacts of confirmed Covid-19 cases – especially those who are vaccinated and boosted – in light of difficulties in essential and public services, and the wider economy, amid high levels of Covid-19 infection.

Earlier, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar told reporters that caution had to be taken to avoid “doing more harm than good” with public health advice, which currently stipulates that close contacts of confirmed cases have to stay at home for between five and 10 days depending on vaccination status.

The rules mean vaccinated, asymptomatic close contacts must isolate for five days.

Mr Varadkar said: “There is a risk that across January we could see public services, critical infrastructure and industry come under pressure. Not because of Covid but because fully vaccinated people who have no symptoms, and negative antigen tests are being told to stay at home, I think that’s going to require some consideration.”

Acknowledging that advice on this area is “very much in the domain” of the chief medical officer and the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet), he said that previously, vaccinated close contacts did not have to stay at home so long as they had no symptoms.

“Previously somebody who was fully vaccinated didn’t have to stay at home, if they were close contact with no symptoms. That rule changed before Christmas, that is now causing difficulties in terms of staffing public services, critical infrastructure and industry.”

That rule was changed in light of the extra transmissibility of the Omicron variant – but Mr Varadkar said party leaders would be asking for consideration to be given to changing the rules for fully vaccinated people with no symptoms and negative antigen tests.

On the resumption of in-person education, planned for this Thursday, the Tánaiste said schools would reopen this week as things stand.

“The plan is that schools and colleges will go back, in the unlikely event that there’s any changes to that plan, it’ll be something for the Minister for Education to announced, but as things stand, schools and colleges go back as normal in January. It’s really important that kids have their education, we know the damage that school closures do to kids, and I think if they were not to open on Thursday, you’d have to ask the question of when they would open.”

As the HSE moves to reschedule non-urgent care and prioritise Covid-19 care, the Tánaiste signalled that it was too early to judge the impact on serious illness and mortality arising from the Omicron wave, even with record case numbers and surging hospitalisations.

“The system is coping, at least for now,” he said. “The Omicron wave is unfolding as we anticipated, it is serious, we’re seeing a very large number of cases of Omicron, and even though it’s fairly clear now it is a less severe version of Covid than previous variants, just the sheer numbers that have got infected means that we’re seeing hospital admissions increase. Thankfully so far, not a very significant increase on ICUs, nor thankfully on mortality, but it’s early days yet and that could change.”