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Another 211 confirmed cases of Covid-19 have been reported to the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET), including 121 in Dublin.
This brings the total number of cases of the disease in the Republic to 30,571.
One more person has died, bringing the total deaths from the virus to 1,781.
Dr Ronan Glynn, Acting Medical Director of the Department of Health, said: “While we are seeing a continued increase in cases, particularly in Dublin, this is at least in part due to the willingness of people to heed our messages. knowledge of symptoms and present for testing immediately.
“This, along with all the other key behaviors, will help break the chains of transmission in our communities.”
“This weekend, limit your social contacts, especially visits to your home. Avoid crowds, stay away from others, and wear a face cover where appropriate. “
Separate figures show that parts of Dublin have Covid-19 infection rates two and a half times higher than neighboring areas in the county.
Data from the Health Protection Surveillance Center (HPSC) shows that the number of cases appearing in south east Dublin, including parts of the southern city center and Dundrum and Ballinteer, is 155% higher than those that they are in the south of Dublin.
The figures cover the cases recorded by the local health office (LHO) areas of the Health Service Executive, which have been compiled by David Higgins, an economist with Carraighill data analysts.
Dublin South East, which runs from Baggot Street through Rathmines and Ranelagh to Leopardstown and Sandyford, recorded 93.8 Covid-19 cases per 100,000 people in the 14 days between Aug. 27 and Sept. 9.
Meanwhile, Dublin South, which comprises Dun Laoghaire, Stillorgan, Foxrock and even Loughlinstown, recorded just 36.7 Covid-19 cases per 100,000 in the same period.
Northwest Dublin, which stretches from Cabra to Mulhuddart and includes many newly built areas in West Dublin, is another hot spot for the disease with an instance of 83.8 Covid-19 cases per 100,000.
Of the 211 new cases reported to NPHET, 73% are under 45 years of age and the breakdown by gender was close to 50:50 between men and women.
About 28 percent have been confirmed to be associated with outbreaks or are close contacts of a confirmed case, and 42 cases have been identified as community transmission.
Outside of Dublin, there were 17 cases in Louth, 10 in Limerick, eight in Cork, seven in Westmeath, seven in Wicklow, six in Laois, five in Donegal, five in Galway and the remaining 24 cases are in Carlow, Clare, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, Leitrim, Longford, Mayo, Meath, Offaly, Roscommon, Tipperary, and Waterford.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin cautioned against any “knee-jerk” reaction to the growing number of Covid-19 cases in Dublin and said the government will take a structured approach to dealing with illnesses in the capital based on advice from NPHET.
When asked if he would shut down Dublin if public health experts advised such a move, Martin said that kind of “approach or language” was not helpful and was not the way the government would address the issue when the cabinet meets Tuesday. to discuss NPHET’s advice. in Dublin.
Speaking at Clonakilty in West Cork, he said: “We must be resilient. People are fatigued, I get it, people are fed up with restrictions and would love to go back to the normality that we once experienced, but the virus is around for a while and will be for a while.
“We have to be smart, we have to be smart, and we have to be resilient in terms of how to deal with it. The overarching goal should be public health, but equally protecting livelihoods and keeping people working and then having a decent quality of life for our children and our people in general. “
Test plan
Earlier, Transport Minister and Green Party leader Eamon Ryan confirmed that the government’s medium-term plan to tackle Covid-19, to be published next week, “would set a framework for the next six months.”
A decision on the opening of wet bars will be made next week once what happened in recent days in relation to the numbers has been determined, Ryan said.
The Minister also backed the idea of testing for Covid-19 in ports and airports as part of a coordinated approach across Europe.
Currently there are no mandatory tests for people arriving in the country from other jurisdictions.
Instead, travelers arriving from countries not on the “green list” are asked to restrict their movements for 14 days and complete a traveler locator form. Travelers from countries that are on the green list are not required to restrict their movements.
The European Commission said it is seeking a coordinated approach to international travel to allow the same standards throughout Europe.
The same system would be used to measure risk in terms of international travel with three different categories: green, amber and red.
Ryan said that testing at airports was one of the elements being examined in the government’s medium-term plan for living with Covid-19.
“What we will have to see next week is whether we take that kind of European approach. I think it has real benefits. It gives people in the travel industry the certainty that this is part of a broader European approach, that is the first key decision we must make, ”he told RTÉ radio’s News at One.
“It will take a couple of weeks for that to be agreed at the European level, but since you have to do it at either end of the flight, you do it reciprocally. Doing it that way is the right way to go. “
Economic impact
The international travel and tourism sector has been one of the hardest hit as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, with air travel steadily declining since spring.
Official figures show that the number of flights in the EU is about half what it was a year ago, while in the Republic traffic has dropped by almost 90 percent.
Both Ryanair and Aer Lingus have been highly critical of the government’s travel restrictions, and Ryanair executives have said the airline could cut more flights in the Republic if the restrictions remain in place. Aer Lingus is considering moving long-haul planes from Shannon to one of six UK regional airports to combat restrictions.
Statistics from the Central Statistical Office this week showed that the Irish economy contracted 6.1 percent between April and June, and that the country is officially in recession.
On Friday, the Minister of Business, Trade and Employment, Leo Varadkar, warned that Ireland could suffer “multiple economic impacts” from Covid-19.
Addressing the annual Dublin Economic Workshop conference, the Tánaiste said: “A lot of people are talking about what kind of recovery we could have, be it U-shaped or V-shaped or Nike branding or even K-shaped. “.
However, he said that these hypotheses assumed that the pandemic would only have an economic hit. “There are more likely to be multiple waves,” he said.
Varadkar said that the current crisis was unlike any before and that meant there was no guide on what to expect, making political decisions extremely difficult.
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