Taoiseach wants Ireland to get out of Level 5 restrictions on December 1

Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said that he wants Ireland to get out of Level 5 of the Covid-19 restrictions on December 1.

This Christmas, however, will be very different from others in that large groups of people will not be able to congregate in pubs or other places, he said.

“That will pose challenges for us. It won’t be a normal Christmas, but it can be a safe and enjoyable Christmas if we care for ourselves and others, ”he said in an interview with Virgin Media News on Friday night.

He said the government would decide what level of restrictions would apply after December 1, taking into account the advice it receives from the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet).

On Friday, the Nphet reported another eight deaths and 330 new cases of Covid-19.

This brings the total number of deaths in the state from the virus to 2,018. There are currently a total of 69,802 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the Republic.

As of 2:00 p.m. on Friday, 283 Covid-19 patients were hospitalized, of which 33 were in intensive care units. There have been 13 additional hospitalizations in the last 24 hours.

Of the latest confirmed cases, 99 are in Dublin, 28 in Cork, 26 in Louth, 25 in Meath, 21 in Donegal, and the remaining 131 cases are spread across 20 other counties.

One hundred and seventy-one of the cases correspond to men and 155 to women. 64% of the cases were registered in those under 45 years of age, while the average age was 37 years.

Worrying

The Taoiseach said the span of last week, where the number of infections spiked again, was concerning and could have been fueled by news of a new vaccine, as well as fatigue from restrictions the public is experiencing.

He did not specify the measures planned for the coming weeks, saying that they will all be subject to the situation prevailing on December 1.

“We need a safe Christmas, a time for family and friends and a spiritual time,” he said, noting that there had been a dialogue with the church leader about services.

“We will not meet with the same crowds as last Christmas,” he emphasized.

He said that most of the emphasis in the coming weeks will be on orientation and a strong communication campaign to remind people of their responsibilities.

When asked about easing travel restrictions, he said: “We would like to see some relaxation of the 5 km and county borders. We want to see the status of the virus at the end of the month ”.

On the question of people wanting to fly home for Christmas, he said Ireland is now subject to the EU traffic light system. The government will issue a guide at the end of the month, but “people have to make decisions about the nature of the trip,” he said.

Healthcare workers

Meanwhile, the percentage of healthcare workers who contract Covid-19 in the second wave of the virus is considerably lower than in the first wave, suggests a new report from the Health Protection Surveillance Center (HPSC) on the profile. of Covid-19 cases in healthcare workers. .

In late March and early April, healthcare workers accounted for about 40 percent of positive Covid-19 cases, and the percentage of total cases peaked in May, when it reached nearly 45 percent. .

However, in the week ending November 14, healthcare workers accounted for about 15 percent of total cases, although this number is increasing, having been as low as 5 percent at the end of October.

Between Aug.2 and Nov.14, there were 41,817 Covid-19 cases, of which 2,826 were found in healthcare workers, representing 6.8 percent of all cases in the nearly four period. months.

During that period, 65 health jobs were hospitalized as a result of Covid-19, four of which were admitted to the ICU.

The average age of confirmed Covid-19 cases in healthcare workers was 39 years, and 78 percent of positive cases were found in women, which is attributed to the fact that some specialties, such as nursing, are dominated by women.

Health care assistants and nurses made up nearly half of all Covid-19 infections in healthcare workers between August and November, the report added.

Adherence to ‘slip’ restrictions

Medical director Dr. Tony Holohan said on Thursday that recent progress in reducing the spread of the virus has stalled, as people have “slipped” in adhering to lockdown restrictions over the past week.

The previous sharp decline in the number of new cases in the first weeks of the Level 5 restrictions had stalled, meaning that the country effectively “lost a week,” Dr. Holohan said.

There was concern that people would socialize more as the six-week lockdown period progressed, and others would work unnecessarily from the office.

Officials expressed concern that recent positive news about the development of an effective vaccine by 2021 would have prompted people to “take their foot off the gas,” said Dr. Holohan.

Over the past seven days, the total number of Covid-19 tests performed was 78,058 of which 3.5 percent were positive.

Meanwhile, 12 more coronavirus-related deaths were also reported by the Northern Health Department on Friday, bringing the total death toll to 913. Northern Prime Minister Arlene Foster has defended the decision to introduce tough new lockdown measures to limit the spread of the coronavirus just one week later. that less stringent measures were blocked by his party.

Another 369 people were confirmed to have the virus, a drop from the 487 new confirmed cases reported Thursday.

The Taoiseach Meanwhile, Micheál Martin met with Garda Commissioner Drew Harris on Friday afternoon to discuss concerns about street alcohol use in Dublin and Cork last weekend, in violation of Level 5 Covid-19 restrictions.

The meeting was also attended by the Minister of Justice, Helen McEntee, and the Minister of Health, Stephen Donnelly.

After the meeting, Mr. Martin said there must be a “push” over the next several weeks to reduce the numbers.