[ad_1]
People have been urged to limit their contacts with other people in the lead up to Christmas after a worrying spike in Covid-19 infections.
As the country prepares to ease travel restrictions on Friday, Taoiseach Micheál Martin warned that the imminent launch of vaccines will not offer immediate relief from the pandemic.
Some 429 new infections and one more death were confirmed yesterday.
“I am very concerned about those numbers,” Martin said. “What I would tell people is that each [social] contact matters. If people want to enjoy Christmas with their loved ones, especially their parents or grandparents, it is extremely important that they monitor their behavior for the next week. “
Beginning Friday, people will be able to travel outside of their county to spend Christmas with their loved ones. There is still no indication that this will be stopped if infections continue to increase in the coming days.
Martin said he did not believe that a third lockdown was inevitable in January, but stressed that avoiding it was firmly in the hands of the public.
Medical director Dr. Tony Holohan said people now need to weigh the risks of whatever socializing they are planning in the coming days.
Almost two weeks since the country came out of the Level 5 lockdown, Dr. Holohan said: “I am concerned that we are seeing the incidence of Covid-19 increasing again – 429 is a large number of cases by the standard of the last weeks and five – the daily moving average has risen above 300 a day. “
The 14-day incidence figure is now 84.3 cases per 100,000 people.
However, Dr. Holohan said the latest figures should be taken “as a sign that now we all need to reduce our social contacts, limit our interactions with those outside of our homes, weigh the risks of the socialization we plan for the next few years. two weeks”. .
Professor Sam McConkey, an infectious disease specialist, said he does not believe that Friday’s travel opening should be reversed due to the high number of new infections recorded yesterday.
Talking with him Irish independent, recommended “prior isolation” for anyone traveling to stay with their family.
“I wouldn’t say it’s safe [to open up], “he said.” But culturally balancing things in the middle of relaxation on the 18th is fine.
“We are not saying that we are opening the country, but that we are allowing the meeting with three households.
“You are supposed to keep those homes. There is a benefit to pre-isolation, which socially restricts movements before seeing family, to prevent you from contracting Covid. People should be able to travel but take into account what they do, who they see. “
Meanwhile, the Cabinet will consider tomorrow the massive plan that has been drawn up for the largest vaccination rollout in the country.
Paul Reid, head of HSE, said in RTÉ This week radio show regarding the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine: “We’ve been working on this for quite some time.”
Irish independent
[ad_2]