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Strong political, medical and scientific calls were made on Wednesday for people not to be pleased with the threat of Covid-19, as the incidence of the virus remained at a high level in Northern Ireland.
As the Northern Department of Health in its daily bulletin recorded 828 new cases of coronavirus on Wednesday, the Deputy Prime Minister, Michelle O’Neill, warned: “We are in a very serious situation.”
He told the Assembly Committee of the Executive Office that the latest figures are “seriously worrying in terms of the exponential increase in positive cases and, at the same time, the number of people who have been admitted to the hospital.”
Prime Minister Arlene Foster at the same meeting accepted that people were “fed up” with Covid-19, but insisted that ministers were not “crying like a wolf” because of the seriousness of the situation.
The Health Department reported one more death from Covid-19, bringing the total number to 586. The number of confirmed virus cases since the start of the pandemic now stands at 16,187.
It’s a two-finger salute to the rest of us, the medically vulnerable, and our healthcare workers.
In the last seven days there were 4,417 new cases in the North. The highest incidence is still in the Derry and Strabane council area, where there were 637 cases per 100,000 residents last week.
It is followed by the Newry, Morne and Down area with 338 cases per 100,000 inhabitants and Belfast with 318 cases per 100,000.
Fans
There are currently 106 patients in hospitals receiving treatment for Covid-19, 14 of them in intensive care units and 11 with ventilators.
The Northern Ireland Executive will meet on Thursday to discuss a timetable for increasing restrictions.
Health Minister Robin Swann, in a separate press conference, accused “the minority” that was ignoring masking, social distancing and other rules to try to slow the spread of the disease of engaging in “deliberate complacency.” .
“In fact, it’s a two-finger salute for the rest of us, for the medically vulnerable and for our healthcare workers,” he said. “If we want to overcome this, we have to follow the public health advice.”
Medical Director Dr. Michael McBride said there is an “upward trajectory” of cases and hospital admissions. “We are only two weeks away from hospital admissions as high as in March,” he warned.
He added: “It is our actions and decisions in the coming days that will determine how bad that situation gets. It is too easy to forget how quickly the numbers are increasing and how quickly the increase in cases can impact our already extended health service. “
Dr. McBride asked “armchair experts to stop peddling the falsehood that this is just a simple flu.”
Double
Chief Scientific Officer Professor Ian Young said that while there are now 106 Covid patients in hospitals, that number could double every seven to eight days.
He explained how there was a 30-day lag between an increase in cases and an increase in hospital admissions. “We are now beyond that period and we are seeing a significant increase in hospital admissions and bed pressure,” he said.
Meanwhile, Northern Finance Minister Conor Murphy announced a £ 350,000 plan to support hotel businesses in the Derry and Strabane area, where tighter Covid restrictions apply. Small businesses can apply for a grant of £ 800 to cover the two-week blackout period, and larger companies are eligible for £ 1,200.
Murphy and Finance Minister Diane Dodds warned that a broader blockade would not be feasible without increased financial support from the British government.
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