Exemption allows close contact healthcare staff to return to work

The HSE guidance says the healthcare worker must agree to the derogation and that it may only apply to an asymptomatic worker who has also returned at least one negative test, either PCR or antigen.

Some of the 5,100 essential healthcare workers who are currently isolating because they are Covid-19 close contacts will be allowed to return to work under a new derogation.

However, under the exemption issued by the HSE, workers who are asymptomatic close contacts will have to continue isolating outside of work hours.