Up to 80% of close contacts on some planes arriving in Ireland have never been traced

The information on the database is expected to be held until at least the end of the pandemic

The HSE said that, in adopting the new approach, Ireland is on the 'cutting edge' of tracing

Move should help to identify source of community transmissions, currently accounting for about one-fifth of all cases of Covid-19

There are about 800 contact tracers in Ireland at present, based at centres in Limerick, Cork, Galway and Dublin

People are also denying they are a close contact out of fear that a workplace may close due to a virus outbreak, and continuing to share cars with work colleagues

Public health doctors concerned the post was being developed on foot of the 2018 Crowe Horwath review of public health roles and represented 'reform by stealth' and was 'ill-timed and inflammatory'

Sources in contact tracing centres say the current system of checking passengers, via flight manifests provided by the airlines, is wholly inadequate for the purpose of tracking infections

Members of the Oireachtas health committee sought answers as to why recruitment hadn't taken place during the summer.

Paul Reid estimated there is around four or five contacts per person who were missed.

Eight months into the pandemic, it appears that the recruitment of full-time dedicated contact tracers is only beginning with 400 currently working in the system

Reopening after mid-term will only happen only if contact tracing is elevated, unions warn

Three days is considered the limit in which contract tracing can prove useful in suppressing Covid-19

Prof Phlip Nolan: 'The subtle message is to reduce your social contacts by half and, if we do that, Dublin can move down from level 3 to level 2 and other counties will be able to avoid those restrictions that were imposed on Dublin.'

The Government has trained a small army of people in contact tracing, the key human-led offensive weapon in the battle against Covid-19. But as things stand major question marks surround the efficacy of the system, at least in its Irish context, suggests Cianan Brennan.