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The more the public avoids “mixing with people unnecessarily” during the rest of the Level 5 restrictions, the more options there will be to reopen the country at Christmas, said a senior health official.
HSE Clinical Director Dr. Colm Henry said that some trends seen in recent days suggest that people have increased their levels of socialization.
“What we see is a slight increase in the number of contacts per case. That infers that there has been a certain decrease in the reduction of contacts and the way that people intermingle, ”Dr. Henry told RTÉ on Saturday with Katie Hannon.
“That R-value is not just an inanimate number. It is the sum total of a million small interactions between people, all of which produce this number that tells us how much we are interacting with each other and how much this virus is transmitting. “
The government is currently grappling with the best way out of the highest level of restrictions, which will be lowered on December 1. The number of cases dropped dramatically in the first weeks of restrictions, however the downward trend has stalled.
Dr. Colm Henry, HSE Clinical Director. Photography Nick Bradshaw / The Irish Times.
Dr. Henry said that the more we “earn” between now and early December, the more options there will be in terms of reopening economic and social life.
“The more it remains at this level, this stagnation that we have seen in the last days of 300 to 400 cases per day, reduces our options. We want to expand the options as much as possible, ”he said.
“The more we do now, the more we avoid mixing with people unnecessarily; And that includes employers, employees who strive to work from home, the more we avoid mixing in any social environment, the amount of options we will have at the beginning of December, for Christmas, and that is better for everyone. “
R number
Politicians and public health officials have expressed concern about trends in the past week. The Health Department reported another eight deaths and 330 new cases of Covid-19 on Friday. The R number increased slightly from 0.6 to between 0.7 and 0.9.
The latest figures show that there were 275 people sick with Covid-19 in state hospitals (five in the last 24 hours) and that 33 people with the disease are in intensive care units.
Medical director Dr. Tony Holohan this week attributed the “stalled” progress to public compliance with the restrictions. He said that people have “slipped” and that the country has effectively “lost a week.”
Meanwhile, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said on Friday that the level of new infections in recent times was worrying and could have been fueled by news about a new vaccine, as well as the fatigue of restrictions that the public is experiencing.
However, he added that he wants Ireland to get out of Level 5 on December 1, but that this Christmas will be very different from previous years and large groups of people would not be able to congregate in pubs or other settings.
Meanwhile, the chairman of the government’s vaccine task force has said a strategy to inoculate the Irish population against Covid-19 “urgently and comprehensively” will be addressed.
Professor Brian MacCraith said urgency is “the keyword” and that the task force will release information on the launch of vaccines when it is “available and when it is accurate.”
Reports this week suggest that three vaccines are showing positive early indicators. Moderna’s vaccine has a confirmed efficacy of 94.5%; Pfizer-BioNTech’s reaches 95 percent on that scale; and phase 2 findings from the University of Oxford-AstraZeneca showed it to cause few side effects, particularly among older people.
Professor Brian MacCraith said urgency is “the keyword” and the state’s vaccine task force will release information on the vaccine launch when it is “available and when it is accurate.” Photograph: Nick Bradshaw / The Irish Times.
“We got really great news this week, albeit via press release. I think there is great enthusiasm for the indicators for at least three of the vaccines; the one from Oxford University, the modern one and the one from Pfizer. Really strong signs, ”Professor MacCraith told RTÉ radio’s The Business on Saturday.
Vaccine distribution
The task force will have its first full meeting early next week, and Professor MacCraith said one of the problems it will address is how to communicate the state’s plans to distribute a vaccine. He said it was “very important for the Irish public to be certain” about what was going to happen.
“Coming out with speculation is not really helpful for Irish society. The general public deserves clarity and really clear information on this. I think that is what we will do in the coming weeks, ”he said.
“We will decide next week the approach for that, but I think at this stage urgency and certainty are the key issues and I think it is of vital importance to the overall well-being of Irish society and the overall well-being of our economy as well. . . “
The Taoiseach told Virgin Media News on Friday that the vaccine could be available early next year.
“The European President of the Commission now says that it could be the second half of December that they will get the authorization … which could mean, by early 2021, that we are in a position to start purchasing the vaccine. It could change the situation significantly for the better, ”he said.
Martin previously said that people vulnerable to Covid-19 would be prioritized once safe vaccines to prevent the virus are approved and ready.
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