[ad_1]
Health authorities want to avoid a second national blockade, but the measure cannot be ruled out if there was an increase in the spread of Covid-19, according to one of the country’s leading public health experts.
Dr Cillian de Gascun, chairman of the advisory group to the National Public Health Expert Team (NPHET), said that the reintroduction of stay-at-home restrictions would be avoided “if possible.”
A warning from Health Minister Stephen Donnelly followed Wednesday that the country was close to a second national lockdown because the state was at “a tipping point.”
127 more cases were confirmed in the state on Friday. This brings to 28,578 the total number of coronavirus cases since the pandemic began and leaves the death toll in the Republic at 1,777.
Of the confirmed cases on Friday, 52 are in Dublin, 13 in Monaghan, nine in Tipperary, eight in Meath, eight in Wexford, eight in Roscommon and the remaining 29 in Carlow, Cavan, Clare, Cork. , Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, Limerick, Longford, Louth, Offaly, Waterford, Westmeath and Wicklow.
About 80 percent of the cases are people under 45 years of age, while 70 of the confirmed cases are men and 57 are women.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio One’s Brendan O’Connor program on Saturday, Dr. de Gascun acknowledged that the country was in a “critical phase” as the Government waited to see the impact over the next week of additional national restrictions on the gathering of people imposed last week. .
“It’s really important that people continue with the improved measures and the improved public health guidelines,” said Dr. Gascun, who is also director of the National Virus Reference Laboratory.
However, he said the reintroduction of a national lockdown could not be ruled out as stay-at-home restrictions had been shown to work to suppress the spread of Covid-19.
“It is a tool in the armory that is never definitively excluded,” he added.
Dr de Gascun acknowledged that a lockdown, while effective in controlling the virus, had a very significant impact on the Irish economy and people’s mental health.
He said that NPHET was well aware that the last planned phase of reopening the economy, which included pubs, had not been able to go ahead due to Covid-19 levels in the community.
Dr de Gascun said the way people went to bars in the past was one of the highest risk environments for the virus to spread, but that there could be measures the industry could put in place to reopen safely.
Greater Garda powers
On Friday, the government agreed to grant gardaí greater enforcement powers against pubs that do not comply with Covid-19 public health guidelines.
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said a 16 million euro package will be made available for pubs that were banned from reopening next week.
Justice Minister Helen McEntee said on Friday that enforcement powers for pubs and restaurants would be improved after an increase over the summer in the number of outlets without complaints.
He said that with the sanction of a superintendent, a Gardaí can order the closure of a pub for one day, and if this is not yet fulfilled seven days, and then 30 days.
Varadkar said he couldn’t say for sure if the pubs would reopen this year.
The government is studying new regulations that would force workers in food and beverage venues to wear masks.
The Cabinet also agreed to ask the Attorney General to examine options to further regulate house parties. Under the proposals discussed by the Cabinet on Friday afternoon, it will be a crime to organize or attend a meeting in a private home with more than six visitors, either indoors or outdoors. This measure was introduced as a guideline last week.
Ireland still on the first wave
When asked where Ireland was in the course of the pandemic, Dr de Gascun said he thought the state had disrupted the first wave by introducing stay-at-home restrictions and “the fantastic effort of everyone in the country” .
While it was difficult to know exactly from a virology perspective, he said he believed Ireland was still in the first wave as there had been no significant change to the virus.
Dr. de Gascun said it was “disappointing but not very surprising” that the summer weather did not have a great effect on the virus.
“So we really have to count on people’s behavior to control it for the next several months until we have an effective treatment or hopefully an effective vaccine next year,” he added.
He praised the public for taking the public health message so well and for “continuing to do the right thing most of the time.”
Although a second significant increase in Covid-19 could be expected in the winter season, Dr. de Gascun expressed confidence that the continued use of physical distancing, hand hygiene and the use of masks would have an impact on all respiratory viruses, including influenza, for the next several months.
He noted that Australia had already experienced a very mild flu season due to all the public health measures that had been put in place to combat Covid-19.
“I think it’s important that we reassure people, to some extent, that we can control this,” he added.
Dr. de Gasucn said that there was not a big difference between a zero Covid policy (the elimination of the virus instead of its suppression) and the one that the Government is following.
“Ultimately, you want to suppress the virus as much as possible in the community, while at the same time allowing people to return to school and work and protect our vulnerable,” he said.
As Ireland was an open economy that was affected by stay-at-home restrictions, Dr de Gascun said the goal was to reopen society as much as possible.
However, he emphasized that people must be aware that aspects of daily life must be performed differently and that such a change requires a change in behavior that can last several years.
[ad_2]