Covid-19: Getting patients to text close contacts will allow system to 'reset', says HSE

HSE’s national lead for contact tracing, Niamh O'Beirne: “Over the weekend we did not have enough staff to deal with demand and that's what created the backlog of cases we're trying to deal with." File image. Picture: Pexels

The HSE’s national lead for contact tracing, Niamh O'Beirne has said that instructing patients who tested positive for Covid-19 forward a text to their own contacts would allow the system to “hit a reset button” to get ahead of the disease again.

She said: "Over the week we simply couldn't get to everyone.