New rules will be drawn up to help Ireland tackle the spread of the Covid-19 Omicron variant, Dr Tony Holohan has confirmed.
The variant has already been found in a number of European countries, including Germany, France and the United Kingdom. The Omicron variant is believed to be worse than the Delta strain.
The Chief Medical Officer has confirmed new rules will be drawn up by NPHET.
He said: “While there is much attention on new variants, incidence of the delta variant of COVID-19 remains too high in Ireland, with widespread infection in the community. We all know the actions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 - good hand hygiene, wearing a face covering, meeting others outdoors where possible and, when indoors, opening windows and ensuring good ventilation, keeping your distance and, of course, coming forward for vaccination and booster dose when eligible.
“The NPHET Epidemiological Surveillance Team continue to meet this weekend to monitor the situation in relation to the new variant SARS-CoV-2 Variant B.1.1.529 (Omicron) and regulations are being drawn up to give effect to the new travel and home quarantine policies.
“In the meantime, those who have travelled from any of Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa or Zimbabwe to Ireland since 1 November are advised that should isolate and present for PCR testing, regardless of symptom status. This can be booked for free on HSE.ie."
Environment Minister Eamon Ryan said it will be a few weeks before we know the impact of Omicron here and in the meantime people need to double down to stop the spread of the disease.
As of 8am, there were 566 patients with the coronavirus in hospitals, up 30 since Saturday.
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