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Medical chiefs have urged companies to allow staff to work from home to help eliminate Covid-19, warning that “the window is closing so this is not a national problem.”
They refused to be swayed by speculation about whether further restrictions will be imposed in Cork or other counties, noting that the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) is meeting on Thursday and that the “next three or four days” will be critical. to determine what, if any, restrictions would be imposed in other counties.
The message came when Acting Medical Director Dr. Ronan Glynn confirmed one more death and 429 new cases of Covid-19, including 189 in Dublin and 60 in Cork.
Any announcement of new restrictions for Cork, which has seen more than 280 cases in the past seven days, will likely come on Friday.
Professor Philip Nolan, chairman of the NPHET modeling advisory committee, said what happens in the “next three to four days” will be critical.
Dr. Glynn said that the entire country must step up efforts and avoid a “blame culture” around the virus.
He called on people to “act like the end of February” and urged anyone with symptoms to get tested and restrict their movements. He said that the guidance on workplaces is aimed at both employers and staff.
“We can see from the mobility data if the traffic volumes in Dublin when compared to last January are down 20%. But in the context of level three, and in the context of the numbers that we are seeing , that’s just not enough, “he said.
And so, I suppose reiterating again that it really is time for every businessman, every organization, every sports organization, whatever someone is involved in, if contacts can be reduced, if there are discretionary activities that should not happen at this time, then please postpone them. This is going in the wrong direction and is becoming a national problem.
“I would compare it to a forest fire in which we see many embers, many small problems that arise in different parts of the country.
Earlier, when appearing before the Oireachtas Covid Committee, Dr Glynn had said it was “too early” to say whether the current restrictions in Dublin had a stabilizing effect on the virus in the city and county, but said it was ” optimistic”. about the situation there.
The NPHET briefing received details from a number of clusters in the west of Ireland. Dr. Breda Smyth, Director of Public Health, HSE, described three cases that resulted in a large number of cases.
In one such case, a 25-35-year-old couple traveled, attended a party, and went to dinner for several days. In that time, they transmitted the virus to their friends and restaurant staff. In total, the couple was the origin of 30 cases in just two days.
In a second case, in a small rural geographic area, a group of middle-aged people who had socialized in a bar and workplace resulted in 24 cases, causing conglomerates in three schools. Of them, 14 were linked to socialization.
In the final case, the mix of two college parties at home resulted in 21 cases. One of the partygoers joined a friend for dinner. That college student who later had the virus passed it on to 15 of his 26 classmates. Dr. Smyth said investigations indicated that the spread had likely occurred at breaks.
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