Youth group asked to ‘self-isolate’ over links to coronavirus case

A youth group in Dublin has been asked to “self-isolate” for two weeks by the HSE to prevent the possible spread of coronavirus.

The group is linked to the first and only confirmed case of coronavirus in the Republic.

No new cases have been found in this group and there is only one confirmed case in the State.

The letter the HSE sent on Monday to parents of children who are members of the group says a case of coronavirus had been identified in a person who attended a two-hour meeting of the group last weekend.

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“As a result, to prevent the possible spread of infection all members . . . . are being treated as possible contacts of the case, and asked to self-isolate until Sunday March 15th,” it says.

The Department of Health also said on Tuesday via Twitter it was aware of "fake letters circulating regarding (the) confirmed case of #Covid19".

"There is one confirmed case of covid-19 in Ireland. If further confirmed cases arise, Department of Health will notify the public. Please be wary of misinformation."

The tweet has since been deleted.

Separately, a woman called ‘Deirdre’ told RTE’s Liveline on Tuesday her daughter is a pupil in the Dublin school closed for two weeks due to the confirmed case.

She said her daughter is isolated in her bedroom and she has not been advised to wear a mask.

Deirdre said the advice from the HSE included using her daughter only having “contact with us for no more than fifteen minutes”.

Deirdre also said she was unhappy at how she was told about the confirmed case on Saturday evening.

She said she had received a photo of the email confirming the news on Messenger before she formally received it from the HSE.

She also said she had attend a meeting on Monday night for parents with children in the closed schoolt and she praised the quality of the communication from the school.

Another attendee at this meeting said the school and HSE had said they were satisfied no one else from the school had been infected.