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HSE CEO Paul Reid said there is now “an unprecedented and toxic combination of potential scenarios” that have emerged in the battle against Covid-19.
r Reid warned of “an enormously high level and rapidly growing daily cases” and a “very dangerous level of virus transmission.”
He added that they are now seeing “extreme levels” in terms of the number of people’s close contacts.
There has been an increase in the number of people with more than 15 close contacts, and some people have more than 30 close contacts.
It comes in the wake of increased socializing and family gatherings during the Christmas period.
Reid added: “We are seeing that many of our worst concerns have now materialized.”
“We are all at extremely high risk in many parts of the country, transmission levels are at a very worrying level throughout the community. That is why I ask everyone to really take immediate action, regardless of what decisions the government makes later.
“We need everyone to take immediate and urgent reactions. Get away from any plans, arrangements, or activities we may have had and really protect yourself. “
Reid said “hospitals are coping,” but will be under increasing pressure in the coming weeks.
As of this morning there were 454 patients in the hospital, 39 in intensive care.
Reid also confirmed that nearly half of the new cases seen in the past two weeks are among the 19-44 age groups, and that the number of contact tracing calls has increased by 300% in The last weeks.
He said the highest incidence rate per 100,000 people was seen among young people ages 19 to 24 with 496.1.
HSE Clinical Director Dr. Colm Henry said the R number is estimated at 1.8.
Even if this drops to 1.4, we will still see 2,000 new confirmed cases per day in mid-January, with hospitalizations estimated at around 800.
Dr. Henry said there is now a “widespread community transmission” with a five-day average of over 1,200, adding that we are now “entering a serious phase of Covid-19 escalation in this country.”
Dr. Henry said the 14-day incidence is 273 and it is increasing in all age groups and that increases are occurring in all counties.
He said the number of close contacts was now increasing daily and now stands at an average of six per case.
HSE’s National Leader for Testing and Tracking has seen a 41% increase in demand for testing, with 63,000 referrals.
Niamh O’Beirne said they expect that number to double next week as it continues to rise dramatically.
Ms O’Beirne said this means they expect to see swab sites across the country “at the best of their daily testing capacity.”
She estimated that they could be looking at 25,000 tests per day for several days.
The highest number of referrals come from the age group 21-30, who said they also have the highest virus detection rate at 8.9%.
This was followed by the 31 to 40 age group, which accounted for 18.5% of all test referrals, which had a 7.6% detection rate.
There has been a 129 percent increase in the number of contact tracing calls made in the past week, which is expected to increase significantly in the coming weeks.
Ms. O’Beirne added that they made just under 13,000 calls yesterday.
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