The testing system for Covid-19 is buckling under the third wave, with contacts of positive cases told they will no longer get a test.
Chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan said symptomatic people have to be regarded as a higher priority than those who are close contacts, with demand for testing rocketing.
Close contacts of Covid-positive cases will no longer be advised to get tested themselves in a bid to take pressure off the system.
It has also learnt GPs have been told to ensure only those who require a test are referred.
One source said there had been “chaos” with many people turning up at testing centres without referral.
Coronavirus Ireland: 1,620 new cases and 12 further deaths confirmed as close contacts will no longer be tested
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Of the cases notified today, 794 are men while 819 are women. The median age of those infected is 34 years old, with 65pc under 45 years of age.
In all, 498 of the cases reported today are in Dublin, 203 in Limerick, 89 in Galway, 73 in Cork, 67 in Mayo and the remaining 690 cases are spread across all other counties.
As of 2pm today, 490 Covid-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 42 are in ICU, with 58 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours.
In December, there have been 135 deaths associated with Covid-19. Health officials fear that many of these numbers underestimate the current situation as figures continue to rise.
Dr Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health said: “We are once again in the mitigation stage of this pandemic. The alarming escalation in the incidence of the virus in the general population gives great cause for concern. This disease is now widespread in our communities and as a result we are asking everyone to behave as if they are
Also reported on Thursday,
Prof Philip Nolan, chair of the Nphet Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group, said the epidemiological situation has deteriorated rapidly over the past week, and that we are âclearly in the midst of the third waveâ.
A further 1,620 cases of coronavirus and 12 more deaths were reported by Nphet on Thursday. There have now been 91,772 cases of coronavirus reported in the Republic since the start of the pandemic last March, and 2,237 deaths.
âStay at homeâ measures
The letter goes on to say that Nphet âis of the view that the virus is circulating in the community at such a level that it requires strict âstay at homeâ measures (with exemptions provided only for those activities and services that are essential in nature) to significantly and comprehensively reduce opportunities for contact and further transmission of the disease.â
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