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The HSE has said that to date, 96 schools have had to test students or teachers for Covid-19, with 35 confirmed positive cases from more than 2,100 tests.
At an HSE briefing on Covid-19 this afternoon, HSE Clinical Director Dr. Colm Henry said that cases in schools are not driving community transmission.
Dr. Henry said that cases in schools do not appear to be driving community transmission, adding that community transmission remains the biggest threat to schools and not the other way around.
He said there were two cases of probable transmission between schools, adding that in three other cases they thought this was possible but not likely.
Also speaking at the briefing, HSE CEO Paul Reid said they are seeing more referrals for testing for young children.
Of the number of young children who showed up for testing during the week of Aug. 23-29, Reid’s 17% were in the 0-10 age group, with a positivity rate of 1.4%.
The following week, September 6-12, the same age group accounted for 36% of referrals among youth, but the positivity rate for that age group was 0.5%.
Mr Reid said that the country is at a very worrying crossroads right now in terms of Covid-19 performance in Ireland, adding that the bottom line is that if we stay on the current trajectory that we are on, it would be quite concerning. , and it will only get worse.
He said what they have seen in the last 17 days was a 39% increase in the number of positive cases from 150 to 210.
He said the 14-day incidence rate of the virus in Dublin was over 104 and was continuing to rise.
New figures show that there are currently 281 open and staffed adult intensive care beds.
As of early September, the number of open and staffed ICU beds was over 356.
The HSE said the most important issue was having enough intensive care beds on any given day, adding that the number of ICU beds can change from day to day as staff can be reassigned to other units.
Reid said that a few weeks ago in August they had about 23 positive cases in hospitals, where today there are 73.
Today there are 14 cases in intensive care, compared with six in August. He said it was a continuous upward trend, albeit from a low base, but it is a steady upward trend.
Paul Reid, HSE CEO, says: “It is a very worrying crossroads that we are at now in terms of the virus. pic.twitter.com/VweVaFUPbF
– RTÉ News (@rtenews) September 17, 2020
Reid said they need a much stronger unified voice for the public on the real concerns that lie ahead.
He urged the public to think about frontline workers and vulnerable people and asked people to think that they themselves could be a positive case and take all precautions.
He said that they cannot let what is happening in France and Spain happen here.
Reid said they are seeing the virus spread rapidly through homes, social settings and communities, and urged people to take it seriously..
He said there was a particular concern about an increase in the cases of people over 65 who are more vulnerable.
Regarding testing, Reid said there is currently an average response time from baseline to result of 2.3 days.
He said there was a 70% increase in volume last week in people showing up for community testing, and said serial testing at food and meat processing plants has restarted with more than 15,500 now completed. and a positivity rate of 0.4%.
He said serial nursing home testing continues, with 57,000 tests completed so far with a 0.2% positivity rate.
Serial testing has begun at direct supply centers with more than 500 tests completed, he said, adding that one case has been identified.
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Any additional measures from Dublin would be in effect over the weekend.
Reid said the HSE is still living with the implications of the shutdown earlier this year.
The health service continues to receive cases that they would have liked to have addressed during that period and some of the mental health problems that have emerged since then. He said it wasn’t a good trail either.
Mr. Reid also said that for a short time earlier this week, he had to restrict his movements.
He said that we should not be afraid, but do a rain test, adding that the situation is in everyone’s hands to make a big difference.
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