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ONE OF FOUR positive cases of Covid-19 in Ireland last week was of the UK variant, Medical Director Dr Tony Holohan said in a letter to the government on Tuesday.
The letter to Health Minister Stephen Donnelly was sent a day before Taoiseach Micheál Martin announced yesterday a series of stricter Covid-19 restrictions, including school closings for the rest of this month.
The new restrictions come as Ireland experiences a daily growth rate of Covid-19 cases that exceeds most of Europe.
Yesterday, it was confirmed that the number of people currently hospitalized with Covid-19 overshadowed the previous peak of the pandemic in April.
In his letter to Donnelly on Tuesday, Dr. Holohan warned that the epidemiological situation in Ireland has “substantially deteriorated” since the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) met on December 30.
Dr Holohan cautioned that several independent independent analyzes indicated that the UK’s new Covid-19 variant has “significantly increased transmission levels compared to other variants in circulation”, and that it is potentially “in the region of 50 % more transmissible ”.
In a statement on Christmas Day, Dr Holohan confirmed that the new UK variant had been detected in Ireland.
Describing a more detailed analysis since then in Ireland in his Tuesday letter, Dr Holohan said that in the week to January 3, a total of 47 out of 189 positive case samples (24.9%) were from the UK variant.
Dr Holohan said further analysis and sequencing will be carried out in the coming days to “establish the extent of the presence” of the UK and South African variants in Ireland.
“A new PCR testing platform is anticipated to facilitate a higher throughput screening approach for the UK variant starting next week,” said Dr Holohan.
Commenting on the current Covid-19 situation in Ireland, Dr Holohan said that “there has been a further significant deterioration in all indicators of disease transmission and severity in the six days since the last NPHET meeting.”
He said:
The situation is expected to deteriorate further in the coming days given the known delays associated with the impact of the measures.
Furthermore, the latest information regarding the presence of the UK variant here in Ireland and reports of its increased transmissibility from the UK are an emerging concern and point to the urgent need for as strict compliance as possible with the measures that have been ordered by the government. and measures that are as stringent as possible in relation to travel, in particular with respect to travel from the UK and South Africa.
The government confirmed yesterday that the current ban on travel from the UK and South Africa will continue until Saturday, at which point all passengers coming from those two countries will be required to possess a negative PCR test they acquired within 72 hours after the trip.
This new mandatory requirement will be in effect until the end of the month in which it will be reviewed.
Schools
Regarding schools, Dr. Holohan said the experience from September to December 2020 “has clearly demonstrated that schools are themselves a safe environment.”
However, he continued: “The current epidemiological situation has deteriorated to the point where the significant levels of mobility and related activity that the full reopening of schools would generate constitute a very significant additional risk in the context of what are already levels of unprecedented disease transmission. . ”
Dr. Holohan noted that “it is important to note that this advice is not based on a modified risk assessment in relation to levels of transmission in school.”
Rather, it is a reflection of the general epidemiological situation and the absolute need now to reduce all opportunities for transmission.
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Taoiseach Micheál Martin confirmed yesterday that the schools will be closed for the rest of this month with a review to be open on when they will open.
Martin said in a speech yesterday afternoon, however, that students in the final year of their Certificate of Graduation cycle will be able to attend school three days a week. The Taoiseach reaffirmed the government’s commitment to the state testing procedure as planned this year.
The Taoiseach also said that special education must remain open “with protections in place.”
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