Just before 10am on Saturday, October 10 last - five days after the Government rejected public health advice to lockdown for six weeks - Dr Tony Holohan, the chief medical officer, texted Stephen Donnelly with worrying news.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will be asked to hold a joint meeting with the leaders of the Northern Ireland Executive to resolve the impasse over the sharing of Covid-19 passenger data, the Sunday Independent has learned.
Six months after the information was first requested during a sitting of the North South Ministerial Council at Dublin Castle last July, the Government continues to stonewall over providing its Northern counterparts with details of people arriving here and travelling over the Border in a bid to ensure self-isolation has been observed.
Last Thursday, the issue intensified after Northern Ireland Health Minister Robin Swann met Health Minister Stephen Donnelly again and no agreement on the way forward was reached.
The newly identified Covid-19 variant, which has been spreading through London and parts of Southeast of England, has been detected in Northern Ireland.