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Confirmed Covid-19 cases have nearly quadrupled in Irish hospitals over the past month, the latest figures reveal.
During the same period, there has been an even greater increase in the number of patients admitted to intensive care units (ICU) with coronavirus.
Official figures from the Health Protection Surveillance Center released Saturday show 194 confirmed cases in hospitals, up from 51 at the same time in September. About 31 of the hospitalized cases are being treated in the ICU, up from seven at the same time last month.
The figures come as a GP in Cork warned that infection rates are rising “very, very fast” and will get worse in the coming weeks.
General practitioner Dr. Ronan Boland said “the picture has changed dramatically in the space of three to four weeks.”
“We have gone from a situation where schools reopened in early September, when there was a high demand for exams and the vast majority of those exams were negative … (to) now, what we are actually seeing, a positivity much higher rate, “he said.
The Health Department reported five additional deaths related to Covid-19 on Friday night and 617 confirmed more cases of the disease, including 123 in Dublin and 107 in Cork. This brings the number of deaths from the disease in the state to 1,821 with a total of 40,703 cases since the start of the pandemic.
Fewer than one in five of the new cases (123 out of 617) occurred in Dublin, the smallest proportion in recent months. There were also 107 cases in Cork, 42 in Meath, 36 in Kerry, 35 in Galway, and the remaining 274 cases were located in 21 counties.
Of the new cases, about 73% are under the age of 45, while 33% are confirmed to be associated with outbreaks or are close contacts of a confirmed case.
The 617 cases reported on Friday is, by a slight margin, the highest daily number since late April.
Medical director Dr. Tony Holohan said Friday that the disease profile continued to deteriorate. “We continue to see a large number of daily cases. It is vital that we interrupt the transmission of the virus now, ”he warned.
Earlier, the chair of Nphet’s Epidemiological Modeling Advisory Group said there has been “exponential growth” in Covid-19 infection in Ireland alongside “rapid increases” in the number of people admitted to hospital and ICU.
Professor Philip Nolan said that at the worst time of the pandemic there were between 60 and 80 admissions to the hospital and 10 to 15 admissions to the ICU per day over a four-week period.
“We are almost a quarter of the way towards those admission rates. We must change course now, ”he said on Twitter. “The number of people in hospitals is growing exponentially.”
Professor Nolan said there are very few counties where the incidence rate is not increasing and “no county where the incidence is not a cause for concern.”
The exponential growth in transmission should “cause each and every one of us to stop, reflect and resolve again to do our part to eliminate the virus, now and quickly,” he added.
“The call to action is the same as it has been for weeks, but now it is much more urgent: radically limit our discretionary social contacts, maintain physical distance and safe practices when we meet, isolate ourselves and ask for help with any symptoms of Covid. -19, ”he said.
‘Really, really fast’
CorkDr Boland said that the Covid centers established by the Health Services Executive (HSE) towards the end of the first wave of the pandemic, which were “almost not needed” at that stage, are now operating at full capacity.
Most of the patients who present at the centers test positive for the disease and “most of them (are) quite ill,” while some are admitted by ambulance directly from the center to the hospital, he told RTÉ Radio One.
Dr. Boland said GPs looking to refer patients to centers cannot get an appointment “because it was over their capacity on the day.”
“It happened very, very fast,” he said.
Most of the GPs in Cork City have had multiple patients with positive results, he said, adding that the city’s hospitals “are practically at full capacity.”
Some 50 people were waiting for hospital beds in the city yesterday and there are only two empty ICU beds, he said.
“What we are seeing in terms of actual cases reflects infections that occurred seven to 14 days ago, so even if level three (of government restrictions to stop the spread of the virus) worked today, what can be said with certainty is that things are going to get worse in the next two to three weeks before they get better, ”added Dr. Boland.
The “fervent hope” is that the level three restrictions will work to reduce the rate of increase in infections and diseases, as “it has grown very, very rapidly and the capacity simply does not exist to cope with a large increase in very sick patients. “. for the next few weeks. “
Dr. Boland said he doesn’t think plans to introduce fines for violating the restrictions are working, adding that most people are very compliant and “active encouragement is more likely to work.”
But public health advice on how to cover your face must change, he said.
“It’s very clear at this stage that shields and visors are not working. That is not understood clearly enough, “he added.
“Personnel working in the hospitality and retail sector, etc., do not protect themselves or others.
“I think the HSE can do better there in terms of providing clear guidance, because I think people are doing what they think is the right thing to do, but we as physicians are pretty clear that it’s not the right thing to do in terms of usage. face fitting. coatings in congregated environments.
“I think that would make a difference.”
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