Close contacts of people with Covid-19 will be tested for the virus even if they don't have symptoms from today.
The Irish College of General Practitioners says it was informed of the changes to the contact tracing process by the HSE yesterday.
It means a patient's close contacts will be tested for the virus on Day 1 and Day 7, whether or not they have symptoms.
Dublin GP Dr Maitiu O'Toole says it's a welcome move:
"We now know that 50 per cent of people with Covid-19 could be asymptomatic.
"It's a really welcome development now that we're starting to ease restrictions.
"It will allow us to identify those people who have Covid-19 and are asymptomatic and don't know that they're spreading it."
