Ireland is considering adding 9,000 more covid cases to official figures as the system struggles to cope with the surge in positive results, while health officials warn that hospitals will not be able to cope if this trend continues.
The sharp rise in positive results was attributed to Professor Philip Nola of the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET), although he said it did not affect case management, contact tracing or our overall monitoring and epidemiological modeling. ”.
On Thursday, NPHET estimated that there are still 4,000 positive tests left to register, more than doubling the next day.
On Friday, 1,754 confirmed cases were officially recorded in Ireland on a daily basis, surpassing 1,500 daily cases for the fourth day in a row.
Chief Medical Officer Dr. Tony Holohan said the biggest concern is the rapid growth in hospital admissions. “Now we are admitting to 0 to 0 people in a day in our hospital system. Unfortunately, we expect this to get worse before it gets better. Our health system will not cope with this level of impact. ”
“We have also seen a significant increase in positive laboratory tests in recent days which shows a real increase in disease incidence as well as delays in people coming forward for testing during the Christmas period. As our systems impact these effects, it puts significant pressure on our reporting system. ”
On New Year’s Eve, Ireland entered a level-five lockdown, with non-essential shop closures, a 5-kilometer travel limit, restrictions on house gatherings and schools closed.
Paul Reid, CEO of Health Services Executive (HSE), told RTO Radio 1: “The virus is now rampant in the community. Everyone is at high risk of contracting the virus. ”
The health system was not designed to control the epidemic, and “cannot cope” with the number of tests conducted, he said. Symptomatic cases are now being given priority due to the increasing demand for tests.
“In the last few days, the real picture has been approaching almost 1,000 cases a day, and that’s the extent of the virus we’re dealing with.” “When we reach these levels, it has a profound effect not only on our systems, healthcare and the volume that any system can cope with, but across areas as a whole.”
Colm Henry, HSE’s chief clinical officer, urges everyone to treat themselves like a virus, as its prevalence is “rapidly increasing”. “We know the virus is out of control,” he said.
Ireland has had the lowest rate of infection in the European Union, the fastest rate of deterioration in just two weeks, after most shops and large parts of the hospitality sector were allowed to reopen in December.
According to RTE, the 14-day incidence rate per 100,000 population in Ireland rose from 87 in early December to 321.3 at the end of the month. The death toll is now at 2,248 with a total of 93,532 confirmed cases.
From Wednesday, strict covid test measures will change the ban on travelers from the UK, requiring passengers to show negative test results in the past three days to prevent the spread of a more transmissible type of virus, Foreign Minister Simon Cowan said.
