What to do if you are a close contact

Being a close contact means being within two meters of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 for more than 15 minutes. It also includes people you live or sleep with, people you share a kitchen or bathroom with, or sexual partners.

How will I know if I am a close contact of someone who has COVID-19?

Currently, people are only required to list people they live with as close contacts if they:

• Are a healthcare worker
• Have a weak immune system (immunocompromised)
• Have a high risk medical condition

If you fall into those categories, you will be notified by the HSE via text message and they will let you know what to do next.

Otherwise, someone may tell you directly that they have tested positive for COVID-19 if they had been in contact with you recently, but you will not be notified by the HSE unless you live with them and fall into the categories above.

What to do if you are a close contact 

For the majority of 16-25 year olds , if you are a close contact for COVID-19 and you have no symptoms, you no longer legally need to restrict your movements. However, if you are at very high risk or high risk of serious illness from COVID-19, you should take extra care to watch out for symptoms and if you develop any symptoms of COVID-19, get a PCR test as soon as possible.

I am a close contact with symptoms of COVID-19

If you have any symptoms of COVID-19, even mild ones, you should:

• Self-isolate (stay in your room) until 48 hours after your symptoms are mostly or fully gone
• Wear a face mask if you have to be around other people

Do these even if you completed your first round of COVID-19 vaccination, had a booster, or had COVID-19 in the past.

I think I’m a close contact but I haven’t been contacted by the HSE

If you think you are a close contact of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 but you haven’t received a text message from the HSE yet, you will need to follow the same advice surrounding close contacts above.

Currently, the HSE are only contacting people who live with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 and they:

• Are a healthcare worker
• Have a weak immune system (immunocompromised)
• Have a high risk medical condition