Covid-19 rise ‘extremely worrying’, says Holohan

Medical Director Dr. Tony Holohan has described the spike in Covid-19 numbers as “extremely concerning” after five more deaths and 1,095 new cases of the virus.

At 2pm yesterday, 232 people were in the hospital with Covid-19, 30 of whom were in the ICU.

Dublin still has the highest number of cases with 246, followed by Meath with 185, 128 in Cavan, 118 in Cork and 63 in Kildare. The remaining 342 cases are spread across the remaining counties.

In the past 14 days, Cork has had 1,137 cases, second only to Dublin with 2,498.

About 70% of new cases occur in people under 45, and the median age is now 31.

“This situation is extremely worrying,” said Dr. Holohan. “Each of us has a role to play.

Each of us should reduce contact with other people as much as possible, which is why that means staying home, working from home whenever possible, practicing physical distancing, and stopping discretionary socializing.

Private households continue to be the largest source of new Covid-19 outbreaks, with 352 new groups identified last week.

However, the virus is also spreading more widely in the community, workplaces, schools and daycare centers, where the number of groups has more than doubled in the last week.

New figures released by the Health Protection Surveillance Center (HPSC) for the week ending October 10 show an increase in outbreaks in most settings, with significant increases in the community, schools, daycare centers, workplaces, nursing homes, and extended families.

The number of new outbreaks in the community rose to 27 last week, compared to five the previous week, representing a quarter of all community outbreaks recorded to date (92).

There was also a significant increase in school outbreaks, doubling to 25 last week from 12 the previous week, while 15 new outbreaks were confirmed in daycare centers, accounting for half of all outbreaks in daycare centers installations to date (29).

The number of new outbreaks in workplaces also rose to 23 last week, with four new outbreaks confirmed at meat and food processing plants and five outbreaks at construction companies.

While the number of outbreaks in private homes dropped slightly, from 395 the previous week, there was an increase in outbreaks among extended families (22) last week.

The number of new Covid-19 outbreaks in nursing homes rose to 11 last week, up from seven the previous week, with more than 300 outbreaks confirmed in nursing homes to date and 40 remaining active.

A fourth resident died at the Kilminchy Lodge Nursing Home in Portlaoise after they tested positive for the virus.

In total, 1,835 people have died with Covid-19 in Ireland and 45,243 cases of the virus have now been confirmed.

Dr. Ronan Glynn, deputy chief medical officer, said: “People must now make decisions. Stop gathering in groups, stop socializing, stop planning play dates, parties, and other social activities.

“People must recognize that the disease is a direct threat to themselves and their families. Now is the time for each of us to act.”