242 new cases of Covid-19, no additional deaths

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The Department of Health has been notified of 242 new cases of Covid-19 in the state.

No more deaths were reported tonight.

The number of people in ICU remains unchanged at 28.

There have been 74,468 Covid-19 cases since the start of the pandemic, and there have been 2,099 Covid-related deaths in Ireland.

Of the cases reported today, 113 are men and 129 women. 63% of infections occur in people under 45 years of age, with a median age of 37 years.

76 of the current cases are in Dublin, 27 in Donegal, 22 in Kilkenny, 16 in Galway, 14 in Louth and the remaining 87 cases are spread over 18 other counties.

As of 2:00 p.m. today, 223 Covid-19 patients are hospitalized, of which 28 are in the ICU. There were 9 additional hospitalizations in the last 24 hours.

Medical Director Dr Tony Holohan said that in terms of hospitalizations and mortality, the European average continues to rise very substantially, while Ireland has remained fairly low in comparison.

Addressing the NPHET briefing, Dr. Holohan said that based on weekly data from Amárach, the number of people staying home has dropped to 78% of people.

He said that based on this research, “generally speaking, people are less concerned about this in general.”

He said that 25% believe that the worst is yet to come, 34% believe that the worst is over, while the rest believe that the worst is what we are experiencing right now.

Dr Holohan said he thought Dublin city center was a little busier than he thought it might be yesterday when he passed by at one point.

But he said they had no reason to believe that there is not a high level of compliance by the general public with health advice.

He said his message still has to be that people need to select from the menu, and maybe do one or two things, but not everything that we are now allowed to do. That’s because, he said, if each of us does all of the things that are now allowed, it will translate into a much greater number of socializations, social activity, crowded opportunities; in other words, opportunities for the virus to spread.

He said that everyone should look at all the things everyone can do and decide what things are most important to them.

Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr. Ronan Glynn has said that he cannot say that the computer problem will not occur again as it was caused by a computer update. But he said the problem was quickly identified and did not affect anyone’s case management or contact management; it simply caused a 24-48 hour delay in reporting those figures.

Dr. Holohan has said that he is concerned and concerned about the slight increase observed in the 5-day moving average, as well as the 13% increase in the 7-day incidence rate.

He said that in relation to prioritizing vaccines and which groups will receive it first, it is an ongoing process.

He said he and Dr. Glynn were at the National Task Force meeting this afternoon and the plans are “at a very advanced stage” but must be considered by the government and approved before they can be published.

He added that they are on target for Friday.

In Northern Ireland, today’s official figures indicate nine more recorded coronavirus deaths, bringing the official figure to 1,059, while there were also 397 new cases.

New year warning

The National Public Health Emergency Team warned that a major increase in close social contacts could result in 300-450 cases of Covid-19 per day by New Year’s Day and 800-1,200 cases by the second week of January.

He said current projections for the Christmas / New Years period suggest between 300 and 600 cases per day in the second week of January.

The projections are contained in the letter sent last Thursday by Medical Director Dr. Tony Holohan to Health Minister Stephen Donnelly and posted today on the Department of Health website.

He said model projections of the likely future trajectory of the disease have worsened over the past week and it has become clear that the case count is unlikely to drop below 200 cases per day.

He said any significant increase in Covid-19 incidence over the next several weeks has the potential to once again challenge timely investigation and management of cases, groups and outbreaks by public health departments.

NPHET also warned that international travel over the next period has the potential to rapidly undermine the progress made by the country in recent weeks.

Earlier, the Deputy Secretary General of the Taoiseach Department said that restaurants and pubs that operate as restaurants have reported a positive first weekend of reopening.

Speaking at a briefing, Liz Canavan also said that over the weekend, Gardaí reported a high level of compliance with public health guidelines.

Fáilte Ireland carried out random inspections over the weekend and had no reports of non-compliance, he said.

Ms. Canavan said that just because restrictions have been eased and we can do more now, it doesn’t mean we have to.

Ms Canavan said: “If you want to spend time with someone you love over Christmas and that person is more vulnerable to Covid-19, then don’t meet friends for lunch. Maybe instead stay outside to drink coffee”.

He urged people to think about their social circle, saying that the bubble you operate in is probably bigger and more populated than you think.

“Now more interaction is allowed, but don’t set it as a goal,” he said.

Canavan said the end of a chain can end with a family member or friend in the hospital, someone who has been caring and trusting of those around them.

He urged people not to move between various locations and keep gatherings at home to a minimum, adding that outdoors is better than indoors.

Latest coronavirus stories

Meanwhile, health insurance company Vhi has said that it will forgo a portion of the premiums for its health insurance policyholders, due to lower-than-anticipated claim levels this year as a result of Covid-19.

All insured persons will benefit from a premium exemption amounting to € 75 for each insured adult and € 25 for each insured child.

Payments will begin in the last week of January and policyholders will receive the money directly into their bank account or by check.

Elsewhere, the president of the British Medical Association in Northern Ireland has raised concerns about the easing of Covid-19 restrictions there this Friday, following the blocking of a circuit breaker.

Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Dr Tom Black, a Derry-based GP, said there have been more than 2,700 new cases of infection in the last seven days, more than 600 of which were in people over the age of 60 years.

Northern Ireland has stalled, he said, but there are still many patients in hospital and intensive care units, and hospitals are working at more than 100% capacity.

“We will be open for at least 16 days until December 27,” Dr. Black said.

“It appears that the numbers will increase as a result of the easing of restrictions and we will probably enter another lockdown in the first three weeks of January.”

He said the “great concern” from a health service point of view is the number of hospitals that are at risk of being overwhelmed during the early part of the new year.

The seven-day average infection rate in Northern Ireland per 100,000 is 165.0, while Antrim Middle and East remains the area with the highest rate, 246.0, followed by Mid Ulster with 220.3.

The lowest rate is Ards and North Down 104.4, but it is higher than the last few days.

Additional information Fergal Bowers, Vincent Kearney



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