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Families planning to reunite with elderly relatives over Christmas should plan ahead making sure they stop socializing now, public health officials have advised.
“Now is not the time to socialize with friends,” according to deputy chief medical officer Dr. Ronan Glynn, who warned of “major issues” if this happens.
“Just because you can get things done tomorrow doesn’t mean you have to,” he said Monday at a briefing by the National Public Health Emergency Team.
Office parties “shouldn’t be happening,” warned medical director Dr. Tony Holohan, adding that people should avoid crowded situations in the run-up to Christmas.
The number of cases will increase again if there is an increase in socialization and “we do not do everything possible to reduce our number of contacts”.
The GAA as an organization is not responsible for the spread of the virus, Dr. Holohan said at the briefing.
When asked about the conclusion by government-appointed consultants EY that post-game celebrations of some GAA county finals coincided with an increase in infection, he said that “many things” had contributed to the local spread of the illness.
Throughout the summer, there was an increase in socialization and it was “not okay” to choose any specific sports or other organization in relation to this.
Everyone “chilled out” and socialized more during the summer, but some activities were the subject of high-profile reporting, he said.
Alcohol was a significant common factor in many social experiences in which transmission occurred. GAA had been identified as an organization responsible for the spread of the infection due to the “high-profile nature of some incidents”, but “this is not the case”.
Everyone has the power to take responsibility for their own lives by following “simple” public health advice, he advised.
Ireland would experience an additional 35 deaths per day if the patterns seen in the rest of Europe during the second surge occurred here, Dr. Holohan said. This compares with an average of 90-100 deaths per day from all causes.
He said the burden of infection in the Republic was one-third that of Northern Ireland.
More than 60 percent of people say the measures put in place to slow the spread of the virus are appropriate, according to the latest research commissioned by Nphet; 23% say there are not enough restrictions and 13% say the measures are too extreme.
Dr. Holohan said that significant progress was made during the six weeks of Level 5 restrictions. The number of daily cases fell from 1,200 to an average of 277; the 14-day incidence dropped from a peak of 307 cases per 100,000 people to 89.
However, outbreaks in healthcare settings have persisted, as has a high incidence of the disease among older people, he said.
Compliance with strict public health measures has prevented between 21,000 and 54,000 cases and between 100 and 300 deaths during that period, he said.
When asked if the measures were justified, Dr. Holohan said there had been a significant reduction in the burden of infection, while hospital services were protected “for the most part.”
In addition, education and childcare services had remained open.
“In a very significant way, we have managed to achieve our objectives, in a way that other countries in Europe have not been able to.”
Dr. Holohan said that Nphet would like the daily case numbers to be lower and expected the “benefits” from Level 5 to continue to be seen in the form of case reduction over the next seven to 10 days.
If people remained committed to public health measures, there was no reason why meaningful suppression of the virus could not be achieved.
The National Public Health Emergency Team reported one more death from a Covid-19 patient. This brings the total number of virus deaths in the pandemic to 2,053.
Nphet also reported 306 confirmed cases of the disease, bringing the total number of cases in the Republic to 72,544 since February.
Of the new cases, 108 were in Dublin, 30 in Limerick, 22 in Galway, 17 in Donegal, 15 in Wicklow, 14 in Cork, and the remaining 100 cases were distributed in another 18 counties.
As of Monday afternoon, there were 244 Covid-19 patients in the hospital, including 31 in the ICU. There were three more hospitalizations in the previous 24 hours.
The 14-day national incidence is now 89.2 cases per 100,000 people.
The five-day moving average for daily cases at the end of the six-week period of Level 5 restrictions is 277, compared to the public health officials’ target of 50-100.
During the six weeks of restrictions, the incidence of Covid-19 has dropped from 307 cases per 100,000 people to 89. The number of ICUs has dropped from a high of 47 to 31 now.
Six counties saw an increase in cases last week, while in 20 the trend was down.
So far this month, 119 patients with Covid-19 have died, the same number as in October; 37 patients died in September.
There have been 38 deaths in hospitals related to virus outbreaks, compared with 23 in October and seven in September.
There are 61 open outbreaks in 25 hospitals, with 910 linked cases. Of these cases, 409 are healthcare workers and 501 are patients.
In nursing homes, there are 35 open investigations into outbreaks, associated with 908 cases. There were 38 nursing home deaths in November, 48 in October, and 12 in September.
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