Letter warning band members to self-isolate 'not a hoax', Minister insists

Health Minister Simon Harris has made clear a letter to a band warning them to self-isolate is “not a hoax” even though the HSE said it was earlier.

The HSE has written to members of an band warning them to self isolate until Sunday March 15 after a case of Coronavirus has been identified in a person who attended a recent practice.

When media outlets began reporting on the letter, the HSE said it was not a genuine letter, but Mr Harris has now made clear it is.

He said: “There is a lot of misinformation out there. The letter in relation to a band practice and being asked to self isolate was not a hoax. It is true,” he said.

It arises from the contact tracing exercise which was undertaken in relation to the one person in our country who has been diagnosed. It is important to acknowledge that this is a situation which is happening in real time.

“People acted in good faith responding to a very difficult situation. The letter is true and the precautionary measures have been taken,” Mr Harris.

“People are working flat out, seven days a week in what is a very fast moving story. People are answering questions in good faith and on this occasion that good faith turned out not to be true. That has been now claried by me as minister for health,” Mr Harris said.

He thanked the media for getting out “accurate information” on a daily basis.

The letter, seen by the Irish Examiner, said the HSE considers that all members of the group who attended the session on Saturday February 29th are being treated as “possible contacts of the case” and are being asked to limit their public movements.

“A case of Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) has been identified in a person who attended Band Practice between 6pm and 8pm on Saturday 29th February. As a result, to prevent the possible spread of the infection, all members of this band practice session are being treated as possible contacts of the case, and asked to self-isolate until Sunday March 15th,” the HSE letter states.

“This only applies to members of the under-15 band. It does not apply to members of the other bands [at the same location], the letter adds.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Health Minister Simon Harris are to seek Cabinet approval today to establish a special committee to examine the full impact of the Coronavirus on the economy and society.

The Irish Examiner has learned that the Taoiseach will chair the new sub-committee.

"The Taoiseach and the Minister will now establish a special Cabinet committee to assess the impacts of Covid-19 and oversee the cross Government response. This will be chaired by the Taoiseach,” a spokeswoman for Mr Harris said.

Band asked to self isolate after contact with Covid-19 patient

The HSE has written to members of a band warning them to self isolate until Sunday March 15 after a case of Coronavirus has been identified in a person who attended a recent practice.

The letter, seen by the Irish Examiner, said the HSE considers that all members of the group who attended the session on Saturday, February 29 are being treated as “possible contacts of the case” and are being asked to limit their public movements.

“A case of Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) has been identified in a person who attended Band Practice between 6pm and 8pm on Saturday 29 February.

"As a result, to prevent the possible spread of the infection, all members of this band practice session are being treated as possible contacts of the case, and asked to self-isolate until Sunday March 15,” the HSE letter states.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Health Minister Simon Harris are to seek Cabinet approval today to establish a special committee to examine the full impact of the Coronavirus on the economy and society.

The Irish Examiner has learned that the Taoiseach will chair the new sub-committee.

"The Taoiseach and the Minister will now establish a special Cabinet committee to assess the impacts of Covid-19 and oversee the cross Government response. This will be chaired by the Taoiseach,” a spokeswoman for Mr Harris said.

Mr Harris will also confirm the establishment of a stakeholder event to brief trade unions, employer organisatons, voluntary leaders and a variety of sectors.

Mr Harris said he would not be surprised if more confirmed cases of the Coronavirus emerge here in Ireland.

He said that the HSE will be given all and any resource needed from Government to deal adequately with the crisis, which has seen one confirmed case here emerge.

An individual remains under treatment in a Dublin hospital and his school, Scoil Chatriona in Glasnevin will be closed for 14 days as a result of the diagnosis.

Mr Harris, speaking on RTÉ's Six One News said: “We won't be surprised if we see more cases and we've been preparing for that for a number of weeks".

He stressed that despite concerns being expressed about the capacity of the health services to cope with a more widespread outbreak, he said resources will be made available.

“Any extra allocation that is required will be made available by government. The Taoiseach is very clear on that. So too is the Minister for Finance.

"It is important to say that when you got to the stage where there were many, many cases in our country, and that's not the stage now, you'd move from what's called the containment stage to the mitigation stage,” Mr Harris said.

Mr Harris said it is important for people to know that so far we have not had any community transmission in this country.

“So we've had one imported case where somebody came back from abroad, and we haven't seen community transmission. So we're still in the containment phase,” he said.

He also said the Opposition are being constantly informed as to developments.

“Absolutely. I mean, there's huge and I must also point out because we're in an interregnum period where there's obviously government formation talks going on, we're keeping the opposition very well briefed, and I want to thank and acknowledge and the cross party support that everyone's providing this is a real public health issue that we all need to work together on,” the minister said.