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Ireland is bracing for an additional 9,000 Covid cases to be added to the official tally as the system struggles to handle an increase in positive results, with health officials warning that hospitals will not be able to cope if the trend continues.
The sharp increase in positive results led to delays in formal reporting, said Professor Philip Nolan of the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET), though he said it “does not affect case management or contact tracing or our monitoring and general modeling of the pandemic ”.
On Thursday, NPHET estimated the number of positive tests still pending registration at 4,000, more than doubling to 9,000 the next day.
On Friday, Ireland formally reported a daily record of 1,754 confirmed cases, surpassing 1,500 daily cases for the fourth day in a row.
Medical Director Dr. Tony Holohan said the biggest concern was the rapid increase in hospitalizations. “We now admit between 50 and 70 people a day in our hospital system. Unfortunately, we expect this to get worse before it gets better. Our healthcare system will not continue to face this level of impact. “
“We’ve also seen a significant increase in positive lab tests in recent days, reflecting a real increase in the incidence of the disease, as well as the delay in people showing up for tests over the Christmas period. As our systems catch up with these effects, it puts significant pressure on our reporting system. “
On New Years Eve, Ireland entered a level five lockdown, with nonessential shops closing, a 5km travel limit, restrictions on family reunions, and schools closed.
Paul Reid, Executive Director of Health Service Executive (HSE), told RTÉ Radio 1: “The virus is absolutely rampant in the community now. Everyone is at extreme risk of contracting the virus. “
The health system was not built to handle a pandemic and “cannot cope” with the amount of testing being done, he said. Symptomatic cases are now prioritized as demand for testing increases.
“The real outlook in recent days is very likely to approach 3,000 cases per day and that is the extent of the virus we are dealing with,” he said. “When we reach these levels, we have a severe impact on a whole set of areas, not just our systems, the health service and the volume that any system can handle.”
Colm Henry, the clinical director of HSE, urged everyone to treat others as if they had the virus, because its prevalence was “increasing exponentially.” “We know that the virus is out of control,” he said.
Ireland has gone from having the lowest infection rate in the European Union just two weeks ago to having the fastest rate of deterioration, after shops and much of the hotel sector were allowed to reopen for most of December.
The 14-day incidence rate per 100,000 inhabitants in Ireland went from 87 at the beginning of December to 321.3 at the end of the month, according to RTE. The death toll now stands at 2,248 with a total of 93,532 confirmed cases.
Starting Wednesday, stricter Covid testing measures will replace the UK traveler ban, and passengers will be required to test negative in the previous three days in an attempt to slow the spread of one more variant. transmissible virus, Foreign Minister Simon said. Coveney said.
