Local Fianna Fail TD calls on Taoiseach to check into contact tracing system while raising two Carlow issues with it in the Dail

Up to 15,000 people may have been affected by issues with Covid-19 contact tracing over the weekend.

The HSE has asked thousands of people who have tested positive for the disease to carry out their own contact tracing.

The Irish Medical Organisation is fearful that people who didn’t know they were close contacts may have easily spread the virus in the past couple of days, according to the Irish Independent.

It’s also emerged that alerts on the Covid-19 tracker app were delayed on Apple devices, which the HSE was due to a sync issue – but has now been resolved.

Local Fianna Fail TD Jennifer Murnane O’Connor raised two Carlow issues as part of a Dail discussion.

She said “On Friday, Taoiseach, a school in Carlow, a child was diagnosed with Covid and the pod of course straight away sent home and the school excellent compliance, but the school rang the HSE on the Friday, straight away they put them onto a Dublin number but the Dublin number came back & said ‘No nurses available’, on Saturday & Sunday again they contacted the public health, on Sunday evening they had to contact the GP, on Monday they were tested and they were told that there could be a five-day delay on the test results now Taoiseach I really worry about this because it’s a school”.

She added “Again on Friday a lady in Carlow had Covid, and her baby, she was asked to give her contact list which she did, she gave it to the HSE on the Friday, on Monday she rang me with the list, I contacted them, she’s six days and today her list is only being actually tested, Taoiseach I really worry that people are asked to give their list, the contact tracing list is not going to work, there’s such confusion and maybe Taoiseach you’ll check into this for me and see if we can handle it better”.