Tag Archives: coronavirus

“We have had reports of employers receiving results in respect of individual patients, that’s a breach of confidentiality. Full stop,” Dr Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer at the Department of Health told the special Covid-19 response committee today

This afternoon.

RTÉ News has learned that in cases of ‘mass screening’, where an entire workforce in a facility is tested, the practice has been that the HSE issues the results to the managers of such facilities, in some cases before the staff are informed.

The Data Protection Commission has said: “From this remove, the DPC cannot see how it can be legitimised that medical test results of this nature would not be communicated in the first instance directly to each individual staff member whether by sms text or phone call.”

In a statement, Deputy Commissioner Graham Doyle said: “It appears to be the case that, at a minimum, communication has been unclear to the affected staff members in terms of how the process is being managed.

“Given that public health authorities clearly want to maintain the trust of the public in the testing and tracing system and keep people engaging with that system, it is important these issues are clarified and rectified.”

Data protection complaints over Covid-19 disclosures (RTÉ)

Previously: Finding Out In The Worst Way

Earlier: The Acute Phase

This afternoon.

Dorset Street, Dublin 7.

Motorcycle mechanic Declan O’Reilly at his business one of several thousand ‘essential’ forms across the country that re-opened today as part of the first phase of the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions.

Name those bikes, anyone?

Leon Farrell/RollingNews

This morning/afternoon.

Scenes from Dublin city centre, Including Hueston Station (pics 3 and 4) and Robert Lamb (4 and 5), of Sunglasses.ie, Dawson Street, Dublin 2 as Phase One of the coronavirus return to work plan commenced.

Earlier: Woodie’s, Woodie’s Woodie’s

Previously: Ready Phase One

Rollingews

You MUST decide.

This morning.

Loss of taste and smell are being added to the official list of symptoms for COVID-19.

Medically known as anosmia, this will now be included in the government’s definition of what patients may experience when suffering with coronavirus.
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The advice now says people should isolate if they have a new continuous cough, or fever, or anosmia.

The symptoms of loss of smell and taste have been reported in many patients for several weeks.

Coronavirus: Loss of taste and smell added to official symptoms list (Sky News)

This morning.

“Last night I signed the regulations to extend those (Garda) powers so it does remain the law of the land that you need to stay within 5 kilometers of your home except for the exceptions to that.”

Minister for Health Simon Harris on RTÉ Radio One’s Morning Ireland.

Um.

Anyone?

Rollingnews

Meanwhile…

Hmm.

UPDATE: Seapoint is part of a phased re-opening of beaches (see comments)

This morning.

Woodie’s, Glasnevin, Dublin.

Leon Farrell/Rollingnews

Meanwhile…

Meanwhile…

This morning.

B&Q Naas in County Kildare.

Staff from ‘essential retailer’ B&Q prepare for reopening on Monday as part of Phase One in the re-opening of shops and businesses.

The store is strictly limiting the number of customers in store, along with…

‘…preparing sanitiser stations for trolleys; safe queuing 2 metres apart before entering the store; 2 metre navigational markers on the floor and directional arrows to guide customers through the store; and Perspex screens and contactless-only payments at checkouts where the contactless limit has been increased to €50′. ..

Do come back.

Sasko Lazarov/Rollingnews

Yesterday evening: Ready Phase One

Safe.

And swanky.

This afternoon.

Dublin city centre.

Yesterday: Mask A Broadsheet Reader

Rollingnews

Meanwhile…

Um.

Yesterday.

In the Dáil.

Independent TD Denis Naughten claimed that some employers are getting their employees’ Covid-19 test results and that these employers are telling their staff whether they are Covid-19 positive or negative.

Mr Naughten had been asking the Minister for Health Simon Harris about Covid-19 infection rates at meat plants when he made the claim. He was also talking about a delay in returning negative results.

He said:

“….negative results are being long-fingered for days and possibly weeks. In fact, the system is so bad that employers are being directly provided with a list of test results and they are the ones informing employees as to whether they are positive or negative for Covid-19. Will the Minister now confirm that medical data are being shared with employers before employees and explain to me why this is happening?”

Mr Harris said he didn’t know anything about employers receiving results, saying:

“I do not have any information about the issue of patients’ details going to their employers but I would be very happy to receive it and revert to the Deputy.”

Later, the Ceann Comhairle raised the matter with the minster and they had this exchange:

Ceann Comhairle: “Deputy Denis Naughten raised the point that information in respect of test results was going to employers before it went to those who had been tested. That would be fundamental concern to the public and needs to be addressed.”

Simon Harris: “As Deputy Denis Naughten has made that comment on the record of the House, I have asked him to provide the details.”

Denis Naughten: “It has happened in a number of instances across the country.”

Harris: “I do not have that detail so I do not intend to comment.”

Anyone?

Transcript via Oireachtas.ie

Naughten tells Dáil ‘contact tracing is so poor that employers informing staff’ (Longford Leader)