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The number of people being treated in hospital in the Republic for Covid-19 has almost doubled in the last seven days with a warning from Taoiseach Micheál Martin last night that the numbers will deteriorate further in the coming days.
Ireland entered a full Level 5 lockdown at midnight and retail stores, gyms, leisure centers and non-essential pools closed since the close of business on Thursday.
Martin’s announcement of the third shutdown came after the rapid spread of the disease over the Christmas period. For the second day in a row on Wednesday, a new record for additional cases of the virus was set, with 1,718 positive tests reported. Another 13 Covid-related deaths were also confirmed.
The R number, which indicates how many people are infected by a positive case, is now between 1.6 and 1.8.
“The numbers will deteriorate further in the next few days,” Martin said in a televised address to the nation at 6 pm on Wednesday.
“With the disease spreading much faster, the threat of our healthcare system being overwhelmed and the risk of increased disease and death among our older and vulnerable populations is obvious,” he added.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin addresses the nation at Dublin’s government buildings on Wednesday. Photography: Julien Behal Photography / Handout
“The truth is that with the presence of the new strain and the rate of growth, this is not a time for nuances in our response. We must apply the brakes to movement and physical interaction across the country. “
He said next month “as we face these tighter controls in the dead of winter, it will be very difficult for everyone.”
However, he said there was light at the end of the tunnel, after a year of “the most extraordinary effort by the most talented scientific minds on earth, we have safe and effective vaccines.”
The latest HSE Daily Operations Report released Thursday morning showed 466 people were being treated in hospitals across the Republic as of 8 p.m. Wednesday night, an increase from 253 a week ago, representing an increase. of more than 80 percent. There were 188 suspected cases at the hospital, compared to 111 a week ago. Last night there were 39 people treated in the ICU, with 20 ventilated cases, compared to the figures of 25 and 15 a week ago.
As of this morning, there are 454 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the hospital, with 39 left in the ICU. More than 100,000 tests have been conducted in the past seven days, with a positivity rate of 10.5 percent, according to the government’s Covid-19 Data Hub.
‘Relook in our activity’
Medical Director Dr. Tony Holohan said Thursday that the launch of the Covid-19 vaccine will be reported to inform the public about the progress of the program.
People can be sure the program is being implemented correctly by reporting vaccination figures, he told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland.
Dr. Holohan defended the pace of implementation of the vaccination program saying it could be harmful if not done correctly. The program will be operated to the highest standards, he added.
However, the CMO cautioned that vaccination was not a reason for people not to act now. He called on everyone to “go back to basic public health measures” – stay home, avoiding social contacts.
When asked if he was frustrated that the government had not followed the advice of the National Public Health Emergency Team in early December not to open the hospitality sector, Dr. Holohan said it was Nphet’s job to monitor the situation. and make recommendations while the government had a different approach. work to be done involving a wide range of issues, including economic impact. That is what the government had done, he said.
“Now it is up to us, as individual citizens, to take responsibility for limiting transmission. Now is the opportunity to review our activity. If we all do what we can, we can protect public health. “
The increase in numbers has occurred recently because the average number of contacts has increased considerably. The public had become involved in a greater amount of social activity which provided an opportunity for the virus to spread.
The basic measures of staying home, avoiding social contacts were important and effective regardless of variation or different strains of the virus. The measures we must take are the same. It was not important to identify the variation. “We know enough to tell us what to do as individuals.
“Each of us must take into account our own behavior. This is an opportunity to take action that can end transmission patterns.
“The message has to be what to do in the future, not to look back. The basic objectives are to keep transmission at relatively low levels and reduce hospitalizations and prevent the wave of mortality that Europe has experienced ”.
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