Doctors obliged to notify HSE when Covid-19 cases diagnosed

“This measure, to include Covid-19 on the list of notifiable diseases, is common practise when dealing with a newly emerging infectious disease. This was also done for the SARS epidemic in 2002,” said Mr Harris.

He also said we are well-positioned to detect and respond to a case of the coronavirus that might arise here. Currently, there is no confirmed case of Covid-19 in Ireland.

Chief medical officer at the Dept of Health, Dr Tony Holohan, said Ireland's public health response to Covid-19 remains unchanged: “We are in a containment phase. Anyone returning from China in the last 14 days, and experiencing symptoms associated with Covid-19, is instructed to self- isolate and contact the health service via phone or email."

Dr Sarah Doyle, HSE specialist in public health, said novel coronavirus is already covered under infectious diseases' regulations as a new or emerging virus so the notification requirement is already there but the move to add it to the list makes it official.

The Dept also intends adding Covid-19 to the list of infectious diseases, such as smallpox, that allows a doctor detain a patient who almost certainly has the disease.

Dr Doyle said isolating or detaining people who have an infection is covered under section 38 of the 1947 Health Act but it only applies to a “very narrow” number of infections and tuberculosis would be an example.

The doctor, who was speaking at a HSE media briefing, said Covid-19 will be added to the list “very soon” but emphasised that the legislation would only be used as a “last resort".

Director of the HSE's Health Protection Surveillance Centre, Dr John Cuddihy, said a strategy of containment is likely to continue following importation of the first cases of Covid-19 into Ireland:

“This would be appropriate if the number of introductions remains limited, and there is no sustained transmission of the virus or transmission only within sporadic contained clusters."

Dr Cuddihy said they are getting telephone calls from people who have concerns if they have travelled from mainland China and have symptoms: “They are risk-assessed according to the protocols we have in place."

The HSE has been urging people to telephone their doctor in the first instance to avoid possible transmission of the virus in hospital waiting rooms. Dr Cuddihy said hospitals and GP practices are all prepared with pathways in place in the event of someone arriving in person: “Just anecdotally I am not aware that there has been a significant number of such cases turning up in person. I think the message is getting through that people need to phone their doctor in the first instance if they're concerned.”

Meanwhile, flu has caused 92 deaths and 77 of those who died were aged 65 years and older. Flu has put 3,462 people in hospital to date and 124 had to be admitted to intensive care.