The Health Service Executive is to ask people who received a positive Covid-19 test result last weekend to alert their own close contacts.
First reported by The Irish Times, the people involved will receive a text message today, which can be forwarded with advice for anyone they deem to be a close contact.
The HSE said its contact tracing teams have faced unprecedented pressures this month due to the increasing positivity rate. Between last Friday and Sunday more than 3,000 Covid-19 cases were confirmed and people with a positive test result over the three days were notified by text.
Instead of the usual contact tracing involving phone calls, they will today receive a second text. It will ask them to send on a message to their own close