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Infectious disease expert Professor Sam McConkey warned that Dublin might need to move to Level 4 or even Level 5 as cases continue to rise.
Professor McConkey, Head of the Department of International Health and Tropical Medicine at the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland (RCSI), said now is the time to act.
“The sooner we do it, the shorter the duration and the less restrictive those measures will have to be,” he told Newstalk.
The Covid-19 case rate has risen in four to five counties to nearly the same level as Dublin and action is now required, he added.
“Unfortunately, if the number of cases continues to rise, whether in Dublin or in those counties, the only sensible thing to do is go up to Level 4 or even Level 5.”
The success of the blockade is questioned
Oireachtas Covid-19 Committee Chairman, Independent TD Michael McNamara, has said that one of the questions to be answered at today’s committee meeting is what is the measure of the success of the restrictions and closures.
McNamara told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland that recent restrictions at Offaly and Kildare appeared to have temporarily suppressed the virus, but the numbers were rising again.
There were also questions about testing and what was required for the system to be effective, he said.
McNamara added that there were concerns about the growing number of people requiring hospitalization, the figure was 90 on Tuesday night.
Swedish epidemiologist Dr. Johan Giesecke will address the committee and ask him about Sweden’s policy which had been to allow the virus to spread among those under 60 years of age. This raised the question of whether the vulnerable should be protected while allowing the rest of the population to move from one place to another, McNamara said.
Many people over 70 would not be ready to do that, he said, so it was a matter of personal choice.
Mr. McNamara noted that the AIDS strategy in the United States had been to encourage people to change their behavior. The Covid-19 message to young people might be not to congregate, but if they do, don’t visit their grandparents afterward.
While Sweden did not have a blockade, it did have restrictions, McNamara noted. There were also 27 hospitalized Covid-19 patients, which was particularly low, but still indicates there are no easy answers, he said.
He said Ireland’s situation cannot be compared to New Zealand due to differences in population density and proximity to the nearest neighbor. “We are close to a very densely populated country.”
Cases in young people
334 more confirmed cases of Covid-19 have been reported to the Health Protection Surveillance Center, 174 of them in Dublin.
Acting Medical Director Dr. Ronan Glynn said that despite representing only a quarter of the population, people ages 15 to 34 accounted for 40 percent of Covid-19 cases in the past two months. .
“This is not surprising, as they are more likely to move into the community, go to school, higher education, or work, and keep our economy and key services running,” he said.
In a new call to heed public health advice, he said: “For teens and people in their 20s and 30s in particular, I know that what has been asked of them and is being asked again is extraordinary. This pandemic has affected their education, employment, relationships and social life. “
He said the vast majority have “done the right thing” and listened to public health advice.
“But the disease continues to spread disproportionately among young people today. So I ask you to stick to this and follow the public health advice. “
He called on young people to “be a role model” for others.
The latest cases, announced on Tuesday night, bring the total number of cases linked to the virus in the Republic to 33,444.
No new deaths were reported, leaving the total number of deaths at 1,792.
Men represent 158 of the new cases and women 175, and in one case gender was not provided. About 72% are under 45 years old.
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