The HSE Mid-West has said that it does not review match footage as a means of identifying close contacts of Covid-19 cases.
It comes in light of the controversy following two Clare hurlers being designated as close contacts following their Allianz League tie with Wexford on May 16, sparking a public spat between the counties which has now been referred to the GAA’s Management Committee.
Dr Rose Fitzgerald, a specialist in public health medicine in the HSE Mid-West, told Clare FM that “in this department we don’t look at… we haven’t been reviewing videos of matches that I’m aware of”, although it is thought to have occurred in other HSE jurisdictions.
A statement from Clare earlier this week said that one of their players was identified by the colour of their helmet following discussions between the HSE’s contact tracing team and two infected Wexford players.
Players being identified as close contacts on the basis of outdoor interactions in a match setting is most unusual.
Dr Fitzgerald explained: “In our experience we have seen transmission within the setting of playing sports and when we get cases, each is assessed on its own merits so it’ll be an interview with the cases and it would be a discussion about their contacts.
“The risk assessment will include the type of contact and the duration of contact and we have to make a decision based on the information that we have and it’s particular to each individual case, the assessment that is done.
“It’s done in this department by contact tracers in conjunction with nurses and is led by specialists in public health medicine in the department.”
Clare manager Brian Lohan claimed last Sunday that “two of our players were nominated by two Wexford players as close contacts”, a comment which Wexford chairman Micheál Martin described as “outrageous”.
The Clare county board has backed Lohan on the matter, however, and Wexford have responded by referring it to the GAA’s high-powered Management Committee.
