Healthcare workers "must not be exempt" from the new five-day isolation rule for household close contacts, unions say.
Under the rules announced earlier in the week, everyone in a household must restrict their movements for at least five days when a positive case is detected in the household.
The isolation can end if a person has three negative results from antigen tests, each taken two days apart.
Speaking yesterday, HSE CEO Paul Reid said an exemption is being considered in case the new rules cause a major shortfall in healthcare staff.
He said healthcare workers would be monitored using the likes of temperature checks, while they’d still have to take the three antigen tests recommended for the general population.
The INMO, SIPTU and Fórsa unions have already written to the HSE opposing the plan.
They say healthcare workers "should not be treated differently in terms of public health advice".
Kevin Figgis, SIPTU Health Divisional Organiser, told Newstalk Breakfast healthcare workers must be protected.
He observed: “Obviously we’re all dealing with COVID since March 2020, and healthcare workers on the frontline are dealing with it day in, day out, night in, night out.
“Fatigue is a massive issue, yet we’re going into another round of danger for society and staff as well. Mental distress is a key issue with all of that.”
In terms of the new isolation rules, Mr Figgis said the advice states people should stay at home and not go to work.
He said non-frontline HSE staff have been told to work from home until further notice, but now officials are "going to look for a derogation" to close contact rules for frontline staff.
He argued: “The point we’re making is the stats are stating the main risk of infection in the health service is staff bringing it into the health service - that’s the main risk.
“What we’re saying is there is a duty of care on the employer to minimise risk. If your own stats are suggesting the greater risk is that staff are bringing it into the workplace… you need to minimise that risk.”
