MORE THAN 100 people have been warned they have come into close contact with a confirmed Covid-19 case through the contact tracing app.

Almost 1.45 million people have downloaded the Covid-19 tracker app since it went live in recent weeks.

Public health chiefs say the app plays a vital part in the country’s fight against coronavirus.

Senior civil servant Liz Canavan, of the Department of the Taoiseach, described the app as a “very important enhancement” to the tracing service, but she did not say how many of the close contacts had also tested positive or if any had been tested.

“Remember the testing isn’t just about you. It’s about the people around you, the people you’ve been in contact with, some of whom may be much more vulnerable to the disease than you are,” Canavan said.

“There may be people that you don’t even know that you were close to in a public space. That’s why the Covid tracker app is another tool in our toolbox.

“Contact tracing is one of the vital measures that will allow us to contain the virus, and the Covid tracker app is a very important enhancement to our contact tracing service.

To date 105 people have been alerted by the app that they have been in close contact with a confirmed case.

“If you’ve been in close contact with someone who tests positive for Covid, the app sends you a close contact alert. If you provide your phone number, the HSE will then contact you to give you advice and refer you for testing if that’s appropriate.”

Leaving Cert

She also said that around 98% of Leaving Certificate students registered on the Department of Education’s portal have opted to receive calculated grades.

This year’s grades will be published on 7 September, three weeks later than usual.

Calculated grades are being issued for students who were unable to sit exams this year due to the pandemic. More than 450,000 individual results have to be prepared and checked before 7 September.

Canavan also warned about the risks of complacency in work and social settings.

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“Most of us have settled into routines of once again seeing our friends, colleagues and families and, in some ways, it would be easy to think that everything has returned to normal. But we need to remember that that’s not the case,” she said.

“The virus hasn’t gone away.

“We have to keep up with all of the habits we’ve learned since March if we want to keep the disease at bay.

“So while we now can be met up with friends and loved ones, and while many of us have returned to work and once again are seeing colleagues each day, we still need to ensure that, where possible, we keep a safe distance of two metres from the people around us.

“This is one of the fundamental ways that we can protect ourselves and each other and prevent the spread of the virus.”