The numbers in the hospital are lower than the peak of the first wave, as Ireland ‘on track’ of 200 to 400 cases per day in March

Updated 32 minutes ago

There were 813 Covid-19 patients in hospitals in Ireland last night as the numbers keep falling.

The number of patients in an ICU is also declining, with 151 people in intensive care yesterday.

St James’s Hospital in Dublin has the highest number of Covid-19 patients, with 98 people currently hospitalized. They are followed by Mater (73) and Connolly (71). Outside of Dublin, Drogheda had the highest number of hospitalized Covid-19 patients at 48.

HSE CEO Paul Reid said on Twitter: “For the first day since we reached the peak of this wave, we are now below the peak of the first wave, in hospitalizations and ICU.

“The downward slope of this is proving to be much slower than we would all like. But good hope. “

Last night, the National Public Health Emergencies Team (NPHET) said 33 more deaths had been reported in people with Covid-19 in Ireland, along with 744 new cases.

In a letter to Health Minister Stephen Donnelly, Deputy Medical Director Dr. Ronan Glynn said the country “continues to experience a very worrying and fragile epidemiological situation.

“The incidence is falling but remains high and is currently four times higher than in early December 2020 and 100 times higher than in July 2020,” said Dr. Glynn.

“Our projections of the model show that if we can maintain a reproduction number between 0.5 and 0.9 for the next few weeks, we will remain on track to have 200-400 cases per day by March 1, 2021 and 100-300 cases. per day by March 15, 2021. “

Dr. Glynn said that these projections are contingent on keeping transmission as low as possible for as long as possible.

These projections would see that 500-600 people would need hospital care in late February, dropping to 250-400 in mid-March.

He added that with the British variant now dominant in Ireland, the situation in Ireland remains fragile, “underscoring the importance of sustaining recent extraordinary efforts to fully suppress this disease in the weeks and months to come.”

On the other hand, vaccinations continue today for people 85 and older after starting yesterday.

GP Sumi Dunne said yesterday: “The level of confidence in the vaccine and the enthusiasm for vaccination in this group has been widely reported, along with a sense of relief as normal life expectancy returns.”