Passengers contacted after woman tests positive for coronavirus (2024)

The health minister has defended the refusal to say how a woman who tested positive for coronavirus travelled from Dublin to Belfast after flying back from Italy.

“It’s not my job to feed the curiosity of people in relation to a patient’s journey,” Simon Harris said, adding that the government was following “best public health practices”.

It has been reported that the patient travelled on the Enterprise train from Dublin to Belfast. Dr John Cuddihy, the HSE director of public health, said each stage of the patient’s journey had been identified. “All relevant contacts in all of those stages of transport have been contacted [and] traced,” he said.

Passengers who sat within two rows of the woman on the plane were contacted.

Aer Lingus said the patient travelled with the airline from northern Italy to Dublin. The cabin crew from the flight are in self-isolation.

Mr Harris said the fact that people who were in proximity to the patient on their journey from the north of Italy to Northern Ireland via Dublin had been contacted should be a reassurance to the public.

“We are protecting patient confidentiality and we are operating in accordance with World Health Organisation guidelines,” he said. “So this isn’t something we are doing unilaterally, this is best international practice.

Mr Harris added. “I actually think considering this was a case that only became known of last night, the fact that early this morning they were able to say anybody who came in close contact had been contacted is a real source of reassurance.”

He said in relation to the case anyone who had not been contacted by the health authorities in the North or the Republic of Ireland “need not be concerned”.

Deputy chief medical officer, Dr Ronan Glynn, said: “If it’s necessary to give more information in a particular instance, we are more than willing to do that and we have done that for things like measles, but there was no need to do that in this instance.”

He added: “We want to reassure people again: if you have not been contacted by someone from Public Health in the last 12 to 15 hours you can stop worrying. You have not been in contact with this case. That’s as much reassurance we can give anybody.”

The economic impact of the spread of the coronavirus continued to be felt yesterday as stock markets fell again. The Iseq index closed at 6397 yesterday, its lowest level since October.

Global markets were heading towards their worst week since the 2008 financial crisis, with the FTSE losing 11.1 per cent of its value over the week. The Dow Jones lost another 1,000 points in early trading.

The citizenship ceremonies scheduled for tomorrow and Monday will go ahead as planned, the department of justice has said. It added that candidates and their guests who have returned from covid-19-affected regions and have symptoms associated with the virus are requested not to attend. An alternative ceremony will be held on April 17.

A man who had been on a quarantined cruise ship in Japan has become the first British person to die from coronavirus. The man, who was living abroad and is believed to have been in his eighties, is the sixth passenger to die after contracting the virus on the Diamond Princess, which was held in quarantine off the port of Yokohama this month.

The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the UK climbed to 19 yesterday.

Worldwide more than 84,000 have been infected and almost 3,000 have died.

Paul Reid, chief executive of the HSE, said on Thursday there had been “100-plus” people tested in Ireland “with a particular surge in the recent few days”. He said none had tested positive but that “we all know now we’re in a stage of increased risks”. Washing your hands and sneezing into tissues or your elbow are two of the most important ways to keep the virus at bay, health officials have said.

The Church of Ireland has said the sign of peace should be suspended amid concerns about covid-19.

It follows advice issued from the Catholic Church to priests and those attending mass across Ireland following the first case of coronavirus to be detected.

A spokesman for the Church of Ireland said: “Physical interaction during services, including the sign of peace, should be suspended. Clergy may choose to give the congregation permission to carry out an alternative sign of peace that does not involve hand contact, eg a smile, nod or bow, if so wished.”

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