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The government may be forced to implement full Level 5 Covid-19 restrictions due to serious concerns about the number of people hospitalized with coronavirus and the high positivity rate of people being screened for the disease.
The number of people hospitalized for coronavirus has “increased dramatically” in the last two days, as the first effects of the third wave of the virus begin to affect the health system.
Chief Medical Officer Dr. Tony Holohan said the “worrisome trend” of increasing hospital admissions reflected the “sharp rise” in Covid-19 rates seen in the past 10 days.
“Now we have exceeded the cumulative number of people hospitalized in this third wave than in the second. Hospitalizations have increased dramatically in the last two days, ”he said.
A senior government source said no stricter restrictions were discussed at Monday’s cabinet meeting, but “it cannot be ruled out that the government will take further action in the coming days if the situation continues to deteriorate.
“We are at level 5 with some adjustments and [travel limits are limited to] county and not 5 km, “said the source. “While we are seeing much lower numbers today and yesterday, the government is being told that it is very low artificially because of the time of year and there is an expectation that we will see very, very high numbers later this week,” he said. source.
It is understood that Dr. Holohan reiterated his opinion to the Minister of Health, Stephen Donnelly, prior to the Cabinet meeting, that full Level 5 restrictions may be required.
Intensive care
On Monday there were 359 Covid-19 patients in the hospital, 41 of whom had been admitted in the previous 24 hours. About 30 patients were in intensive care, five of whom were admitted in the previous 24 hours.
Dr. Holohan said public health officials were also concerned about a “sharp increase in positivity rates” from community tests, a metric that indicates the prevalence of the virus among the general population.
The current seven-day average rate of positive tests had risen to 9.2%, up from 5.2% on December 18.
“This is just one more reason why we strongly advise everyone to stay safe at home to avoid transmitting or contracting this virus, as it continues to circulate widely,” he said.
The National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) reported 765 confirmed cases of Covid-19 on Monday, as well as one more coronavirus-related death.
Dr. Holohan said the drop in new cases compared to last week was likely due to fewer people being referred and coming for tests in the days leading up to Christmas.
Infectious disease expert Professor Sam McConkey said he was concerned this would result in a “significantly high” number of cases being reported as of the middle of this week. Professor McConkey said the increase in hospitalizations was “almost completely inevitable” as the country was beginning to see more than 1,000 new cases a day.
Vaccinations
The first Covid-19 vaccines are expected to be administered at one of the four acute care hospitals on Tuesday in Dublin, Cork and Galway.
Donnelly updated Cabinet on the vaccination plan and stressed to his colleagues the importance of effective communication regarding the vaccine.
The minister had met early Monday with the high-level working group on the vaccination program and told them that the only restriction they should face is supply, and that the resources they need will be available.
Several Cabinet members asked for assurances that as the supply “increases”, the health authorities will be able to match it with enough staff to administer the injections and that there will not be a significant lag between the arrival of the vaccines and the people who will receive them.
Donnelly assured his colleagues that the inoculation would be a full seven-day operation and not a five-day system as had been suggested.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin said he was very concerned about the new variant of Covid-19 that originated in the UK and its possible impact on Ireland. But speaking in government buildings, he defended the robustness of the new measures the government introduced just before Christmas to combat the growing incidence of Covid-19.
“We have introduced very tough Level 5 measures,” he said.
“The only areas not covered are nonessential retail, the impact of which has been shown to be not huge, and (the decision not to reintroduce) the 5km from home restrictions.”
He said that much depended on behavior, both individual and collective.
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