A north Dublin creche worker tested positive for coronavirus last week - but the facility remained open today.
Parents whose children attend the childcare centre were told by email on Thursday, July 16 that a staff members had tested positive for the killer bug that same day.
The memo to parents and guardians, which was signed by the creche’s manager, reveals that the "educarer" went into work on Monday, June 13, and did not show symptoms.
It goes on to say that the carer tested positive three days later, and that a "small number" of staff members who had been in "direct contact" with the infected creche worker "are being tested and while awaiting results will not be in attendance".
The email said: "This is a short memo to inform you that a member of staff who was present in the creche for only one day (Monday 13 of July) has tested positive this afternoon for COVID-19. The educarer was asymptomatic on Monday.
"The purpose of this email is to reassure you that all protocols from the HSE and TUSLA have been followed.
"Most importantly all parents whose children have been in contact with the asymptomatic Educarer have been phoned personally and appropriate testing has been arranged.
"Likewise, the small number of staff members who were in direct contact with the Educarer in question are being tested and while awaiting results will not be in attendance."
A HSE statement said: “The HSE does not comment on individual cases. Where there is a confirmed case of Covid-19 in a childcare setting, the childcare setting is contacted by HSE Public Health who conduct an assessment of the childcare setting, and advice on the management of children and staff who came in contact with the case is based on this assessment."
HSE guidelines state that if a COVID case is confirmed in a childcare setting, the facility will be contacted by a public health official to identify anyone who was in contact with the infected person during the period when they were infectious.
They will also advise the facility on any actions or precautions that should be taken.
The news comes just 24 hours after acting chief medic Dr Ronan Glynn warned that the workplace is the "new frontline" in the battle against coronavirus.
The top doc urged employers to be extra vigilant following the closure of a building site on Townsend Street in Dublin city centre after a cluster of cases among workers was confirmed there.
Several workplaces - including supermarkets and fast food businesses, have reported cases among staff in the past fortnight.
This evening, public health officials revealed there had been 36 new cases in Ireland - 30 more than was reported yesterday and the highest number of new cases reported on any day since the launch of Phase 3 of Reopening Ireland.
