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DEPUTY CHIEF MEDICAL Officer Dr Ronan Glynn has said the two-hour guidance on spending time in a room with others isn’t the same as saying that businesses around the country are being discouraged from having people in the same room for more than two hours.
Dr Glynn emphasised that it would be up to a public health doctor to determine if someone could be considered a close contact of a person who contracted Covid-19.
If a person spent two hours or more in a room with someone who subsequently was confirmed to have the virus, it could be the case they would be considered a close contact and would have to isolate for 14 days.
He told this evening’s Department of Health briefing that it’s “not surprising there’s confusion” on the matter because it’s “quite technical”.
Earlier today, the Courts Service said it would be limiting time in court to just two hours a day, after public health advice given to TDs about whether they can conduct committees at the moment.
TDs were told they can spend no longer than two hours in the Dáil chamber – even if each person is at least two metres apart - in order to comply with public health advice. If they spend more than two hours together indoors, they may be considered close contacts.
Dr Glynn was asked about this this evening, and said he wasn’t privy to the advice given to the Oireachtas as that had come from the Heath Protection Surveillance Centre within the HSE.
He said that, more generally, when someone was confirmed to have Covid-19, a public health doctor would examine interactions they had with others to determine who they may have come into close contact with.
Depending on the size of a room, and the ventilation within it, the doctor would make a judgement on whether someone they had spent time in a room with could be considered a close contact.
“If you’ve had a meeting for more than two hours and one of those people is subsequently confirmed [to have been diagnosed with Covid-19], it may have implications for everyone in the room at the time,” he said.
It’s not the same as saying every business and organisation in the country can’t have people in the same room for more than two hours.
He said in such a case it would be likely that at least some of the people in the same room at the time would be considered close contacts.
When someone is determined to be a close contact of a confirmed case, they are advised to self-isolate for up to 14 days and are tested for Covid-19.
Dr Glynn said that his message to employers would be to limit contact between employees to minimise the risk of them catching and spreading Covid-19. He said that by keeping any meetings to less than two hours this would minimise the risk of the virus spreading.
“Everything we’re doing is a balance of risk and benefit,” he said. “It’s the same for all sectors of society.”
With reporting from Gráinne Ní Aodha
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So TDs could only be risked for 2 hours in a room because they’re so important?
@Eoin Scanlon: Brilliant comment Eoin. Very edgy too.
@Caoimhín: thank you anonymous Twitter account
From what I can gather, the difference is the activity in the room. If 20 people are in a room holding a meeting for 2 hours, then they could be putting themselves at risk, but if 20 people are in a similar room sorting out packages, they’d be grand. It’s all perfectly clear
Jesus can we start insisting on a bit of ‘cop on’ – of course the risk of having to put all TDs in isolation as if one was infected and then Govt would have to effectively shut down – but this is getting ridiculous – we need to learn to live with the risk of the virus and have to ask that people will be in rooms with people and a tiny % may get infected and if the room needs to isolate then so be it – but the risk to losing a whole government does not have to apply to business and organisations the length of the country FFS.
@Dave Hammond: but it wasn’t all TDs. It was a select Dail committee
Could some “expert” please announce that walking past somebody on the footpath is low risk, walking out in front of traffic off the footpath is high risk
I thought 15 minutes in the presence of someone was infectious, no sorry
I thought the curve needed flattening…..well not anymore
I thought the ICU’s couldn’t be allowed to be overwhelmed
Dont wear a mask, well do now if you want, but not if you’re under 14 because…..and dont wear medical ones if you do.
Look, just go home. If we come up with another rule to follow we’ll let you know.
@Vladimir Macro: This wasn’t a new rule, apart from for the Dail or courts. Its a change or addition to the close contact definition.
@NotMyIreland: If only I knew science was soo grey, I would have got an A in the Junior Cert
@Vladimir Macro: Oh yeah they definitely pulled the two hours out of their arse just like the 15min face to face bit. But they do have to set parameters for the testing regime though so had to pick something I suppose. It just means more people can qualify for a test.
Have they given up on testing? Why ask someone to self isolate for 14 days instead of testing? It seems such a waste of resources.
@EvieXVI: to be fair i think they do plan on testing – the issue seems to be that if you are identified as having been a close contact and are traced then you need to isolate immediately as you could be spreading the virus even if you are not showing symptoms and they do not want you doing that – especially for 3 days while you might be waiting for a result – this is why the test and trace is so important – but the confusions the authorities are causing is around this nonsense of giving different advice to different sectors – they need to stop this nonsense of telling some sectors they cant be in a room for more than 2 hours – they of course made that rule for dail / government as it is a particular situation that you do not want to shut down the whole government if there was a case – but that’s not the norm for business , companies , organisations etc etc – they can arrange in clusters of workers so if theres an outbreak then the cluster can be isolated – but the confusions and of course the. overly cautious concerns of some sectors ( like the courts today ) need to be told to get on with it – there is no risk free version of getting back to work etc – this we are only doing 2 hours needs to knocked on the head and a clear message communicated to how places are to operate on reopening. They are really starting to over confuse the messaging these days.
@Dave Hammond: They are not giving that advice to all businesses. They are only trying to say that from now anyone a room for two hours may be considered a close contact, previously only face to face contact for 15mins was considered a close contact, now it will be both. So its fine for businesses to have 20 people in an office, but if one of them tests positive all 20 will be contacted and tested, as they said they are now testing all close contacts regardless of symptoms. Yes the other 19 will have to self isolate until they get a result, but that is one of the realities of living with the virus. Its not more regulation for business, its a change of case/contact definition.
@NotMyIreland: Agree – but allowing such an important message to be confused was an error – up to now they have imposed pretty crude rules specifically to stop mixed messages – eg 2km rules etc – but on this one they advised the Dail yesterday about the 2 hour – then the courts today adopted that – and tonite various business sectors are all asking. for clarity – they need to do better with communication in my opinion – the fact the article is titled ‘ it’s not surprising theres confusion’ speaks volumes,
No still confused as F.cuk … so it’s ok for every other worker in the country to sit in an office for 8 hours a day with other people but not TDs…
TDs and the judiciary are clearly more important than the peasant classes.
Taking aside that different rules are applied for TDs I’m wondering why this kind of work can’t be done from home.
Is there a need to have the people physically in the same room?
Ah FFS
The people who died with Covid (not necessarily FROM Covid) is very sad and RIP however on average, another 85 people died in Ireland today. We really need keep this thing in perspective and give people back there lives. There is no argument for not letting everything reopen subject to social distancing and hygiene.
@Robaird O Raighne: Total number of deaths in Ireland for the week 11-18 May last year was higher than total number of deaths for the same period this year
Let that sink in
@Oracle Steve: Dublin deaths for April 2020 1200 Ten year average 690. Let that sink in.
One thing this pandemic had done is it has flushed the stuffed suits in the HSE out into public view. And as expected they are full of BS. Clowns of the highest order. Where do we produce these idiots? And how do they tend to congregate in the HSE? This issue of congregated overpaid bozos in our heath service will have to be addressed when some semblance of normality returns.
@Virus-free Turkey: because people to lazy and unambitious to go out and take a chance in the real world tend to take low paid entry positions in the civil service. Over 10 to 15 years of mind numbing non work that only an imbecile could put up with they then rise through the ranks promoted by equally inept paper pushers. They keep rising until they end up in a position that they are unsuitable for and unable to do but since there is no demotion then the top spots in all these organisations end up being filled by people unsuitable for their jobs. They still get pay rises despite their incompetence and clock in until they retire from their professional brown nose job with a golden pension. The civil service is unfit for the modern world and until it is changed so that pay rises are linked to ability and productivity and all employees are held accountable then we will never get the services ww deserve that the private sector taxes pay for
@Dino: exactly, when I left school in the late 70′s if you couldn’t get a job anywhere else there was always the civil service and you’re right, they then slowly rise to the top regardless of ability. Hence the continual mess.
@Dino: boll*x Dino, My wife is in the civil service, she has been working no stop as haveall the Depts ( social welfare ). It’s a very simple and populist view. Without basis in fact.
Golden pension, come on.
@Ian James Burgess: the 70s! 40 years ago, ffs sake things have changed in the civil service, if your fecking around in there now you ain’t going nowhere.
@John Rock: exactly if you are fecking around you ain’t going nowhere in other words you don’t get promoted you are moved sideways but you still get the pay rises or the union calls a strike, there was a case a few years ago where a guy in the army who was so obese he couldnt do his job ( he worked in the stores ) he went to court the army couldn’t get rid, I’m well aware there are some good workers in the civil service but a lot of wasters as well who are only there for their pension….
@Dino: clueless
2 hours in the same room or 2 hours in a meeting ? As most know in the burdened Private Sector Offices are Open Plan layout so can we assume that the Private Sector Employees can work in the same way as the Dail, Court Systems. Work 25% of the day and get paid for 100%.
Teachers the average highest paid in the world are working now less than 25% of a total of approx 26 weeks in the year but we are still expected to pay for their 100% salaries. Have heard that children contacted on Wednesday and Friday for 30 minutes each time. Why are Public Service workers not on the same scheme as Private workers ca. 400 Euro a week don’t understand most are not working at all and when they are very few hours a week. No economy can support this.
@Teresa: You answered your own question teachers are still working, anyone on PUP are not. Simple difference.
IF this.. IF that.. If pigs could fly the price of bacon would go up..
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