Every member of the Irish Cabinet will have to self-isolate until they know if an unwell minister has coronavirus.
Stephen Donnelly, the minister for health, told colleagues he was feeling ill following a full meeting of the Cabinet Tuesday morning. He will now be tested for COVID-19.
A spokesman for the Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin — who is now self-isolating alongside his ministers — confirmed the government had accepted the advice of Acting Chief Medical Officer Ronan Glynn to avoid unnecessary social contact.
The house speaker Seán Ó Fearghaíl originally told members the lower house of the Irish legislature would be adjourned for the rest of the week. He said from the chair that “there is no possibility of transacting business” with the Cabinet in isolation. However, the parliament later reconvened, with questions being fielded by junior ministers.
This will be the last parliamentary session this week and the Dáil will sit again from next Tuesday.
The news of Cabinet isolation came as a surprise to at least two of their number. The Irish Times reported that Justice Minister Helen McEntee had to be informed during a broadcast interview, while another said the move was “news to me.”
Earlier Tuesday, Martin introduced new coronavirus measures as part of a new “
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