The Health Minister has said the Government wants to “ease the burden” on people with the changes.
Cabinet is expected to sign off on new Covid-19 close contact and testing rules on Wednesday (12 January).
Health Minister Stephen Donnelly revealed details of the proposed changes while speaking on Newstalk’s The Hard Shoulder on Tuesday evening,
As part of the new rules, isolation periods for asymptomatic boosted close contacts of confirmed Covid cases will be removed.
That said, those who fall under this bracket are to be recommended to wear medical or higher grade masks and take regular antigen tests.
Under other proposed changes going before Cabinet, anyone who has Covid will only have to isolate for seven days instead of ten while there will no longer be a requirement for people aged between four and 39 to confirm an antigen test result with a PCR test.
Donnelly said the changes will be discussed by Cabinet on Wednesday following advice from Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan.
The Minister also stated he will be recommending that Cabinet agrees to the new rules.
“We really want to try and ease the burden on people,” Donnelly said.
“We’re very very aware of how difficult it is for people themselves, for their employers, for their communities with so many people being asked to restrict their movements if they’re a close contact.”
Main image via Sasko Lazarov / RollingNews.ie
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