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The National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) has confirmed 484 new cases of the coronavirus in Ireland today.
Health authorities also reported three more deaths tonight in a briefing.
In total, 77,678 cases of the coronavirus have been identified in Ireland since the outbreak began.
The total number of deaths has now reached 2,143.
211 people are in the hospital receiving treatment for the virus and 31 people are in intensive care. 30 people have been hospitalized in the last 24 hours while 14 cases were discharged, including two people from intensive care.
Dublin reported the most cases today with 150 confirmed, while Wexford reported 45 cases. Cork follows with 40 cases identified along with 32 cases in Donegal and 29 in Limerick.
The remaining 188 cases are in another 20 counties.
Of cases today;
- 246 cases are men and 238 women;
- 59% of cases are found in people under 45 years of age;
- The mean age of confirmed cases is 37 years;
The latest confirmed cases and new deaths in Ireland come when Health Minister Stephen Donnelly told the Dáíl that his conversation today with Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Holohan was “very sobering.”
Dr Holohan informed Minister Donnelly that the rate R of Covid-19 transmission in Ireland was now between 1.1 and 1.3, which means that the virus is spreading in the community.
Travel restrictions between the country’s counties will be lifted tomorrow for Christmas, however, Donnelly warned that the coronavirus situation has become “precarious.”
Speaking at tonight’s public health briefing, Professor Philip Nolan, chair of Nphet’s Irish Epidemiological Modeling Advisory Group, said health experts were concerned that the virus was now in a further reproductive phase.
The professor warned that the numbers could rise to 700-1,200 cases per day by the second week of January.
Professor Nolan said: “The breeding number is now estimated between 1.1-1.3. We are concerned that Ireland is now in a phase of rapid growth, which if allowed to continue, will result in 700 – 1200 cases per day by the second week of January, if not earlier.
“We are particularly concerned about the elderly and vulnerable adults, who have protected themselves during the second wave and are now at risk during the holiday season.”
The CMO highlighted the changing Covid-19 data that Nphet has been working on in recent days as the case numbers are reported.
Dr. Holohan said: “The 5-day moving average is 387 per day; This is an indicator that the disease is moving rapidly compared to the previous 5-day average.
The country’s chief physician urged the public to restrict their contacts before Christmas and said public health experts were receiving reports of coronavirus outbreaks on social occasions.
“We are now receiving reports of outbreaks in social settings, including work settings, Christmas parties and funerals.
“The consequences of not doing so will be exponential growth in January, a substantial increase in hospitalizations and the risk of death,” said Dr. Holohan.
However, Dr. Holohan did not identify specific social settings at tonight’s Nphet briefing as he did not want to have examples that would result in the identification of people with Covid-19.
The latest data from Nphet on the transmission of Covid-19 in the country follows the confirmation from the Taoiseach that it has tested negative for the virus. It was a close contact with French President Emmanuel Macron, who tested positive for the coronavirus.
The French president’s office this morning confirmed that he had tested positive for Covid-19.
He said the president had a test “as soon as the first symptoms appeared.” The short statement did not say what symptoms Macron experienced.
Micheál Martin restricted his contacts this afternoon while he awaited the results of his rapid test.
He underwent the test as a precautionary measure when he attended last week’s European Council meeting in Brussels with the French leader.
Meanwhile, HSE chief Paul Reid has expressed concern that there may be “an explosive mix” that could have a major impact after Christmas.
“We want people to look forward to Christmas, it is important for their mental health,” he told Morning Ireland on RTÉ radio.
The best Christmas gift the public could give healthcare workers was to protect themselves and reduce the need for hospitalizations.
The simple message was the need to reduce contacts and home visits, he said.
Reid said he was concerned about “the lag effect.” He did not want to have to reduce the easing of restrictions at an earlier stage. It was up to everyone to modify their behavior so that this didn’t have to happen.
Restrictions have been eased with the aim of giving people “some relief”, but the public should continue to practice measures such as wearing masks, hand washing and social distancing.
Mr Reid also said that the HSE would offer whatever support it could to Northern Ireland and that they were monitoring the situation there closely.
Responding to a question about the possibility of closing schools this week until after Christmas after a series of outbreaks in schools, Reid said that keeping schools open is important for the well-being of children.
Positivity rates in school were much lower than in the community, so they should remain open, he said.
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