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The National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) reported one more death from a Covid-19 patient. This brings to 4,319 the total number of deaths in the Republic since the pandemic began.
Nphet also reported 687 confirmed cases of the disease, bringing the total number of cases in the Republic to 220,273.
Of the new cases, 240 are in Dublin, 49 in Limerick, 44 in Offaly, 40 in Galway, 36 in Louth and the remaining 278 cases spread over 19 other counties.
The 14-day incidence of the disease is now 209 cases per 100,000 people nationwide. Offaly has the highest incidence in the county, followed by Longford. Kerry has the lowest incidence.
Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr. Ronan Glynn said progress was still being made. There were no new admissions to the ICU in the last 24 hours, he noted, for the first time since Saint Stephen’s Day.
Most of us find it boring to stick to public health guidelines, but we do so because of the importance we place on preventing the spread of the virus, the report heard.
Six out of 10 people say sticking to the guidelines is tedious, but nearly 80 percent believe preventing the spread of Covid-19 is more important than the burden of restrictions, according to a survey conducted for the government.
Professor Pete Lunn, head of the behavioral research unit at the Institute for Economic and Social Research, said this helped explain how compliance measures have increased in recent months, despite the frustrations people feel.
“The fact that we feel in a particular way does not mean that this feeling dictates our behavior. Rather, the vast majority of people in Ireland support and abide by the restrictions, despite the frustrations.
The data also shows systematic misperceptions about social activity, he said.
Half of the adult population does not meet with anyone outside their home for a period of 48 hours, and less than a quarter meet with three or more. However, the most socially active people believe that they are meeting fewer people than the average, according to Professor Lunn.
“There is a clear misperception. Most people believe that others enjoy a social life more than they do. “Those who are actually the most socially active don’t realize this.”
“The finding is important and we must try to correct this misperception. When people appreciate the effort that others make, they are usually more likely to follow suit. “
Falling figures
Earlier on Monday, the latest HSE figures showed that the number of people hospitalized with Covid-19 continues to fall, with 537 people hospitalized Sunday night, a drop of 17.
Of these, 132 people were in the ICU, and three deaths were reported in these units in the 24 hours leading up to Sunday night. Currently, about 94 people use ventilators.
The number of people hospitalized with Covid-19 has continued to fall in recent weeks, falling from 676 hospital cases on February 22, 1,100 on February 8, and 1,803 on January 25.
The UCI numbers are also falling, from 154 on February 22, 173 on February 8 and 217 on January 25.
St James’s Hospital in Dublin currently cares for the largest number of Covid-19 patients with 67 confirmed cases in their wards, followed by Beaumont Hospital, which has 50 Covid-19 cases, and Connolly Hospital, which has 49 cases.
Data released today by the Health Protection Surveillance Center (HPSC) shows that 2,113 children under the age of 18 tested positive for the virus during the past fortnight, including 589 cases among children aged four and younger and 814 cases among children aged 5 to 12 years.
The highest number of cases was reported among people aged 25 to 34 years (1,614 cases), while a further 1,594 cases were reported among people aged 19 to 24 years. 1,585 cases were recorded among people aged 35 to 44 years and 1,277 among those aged 45 to 54 years. Only 244 cases, or 2.4% of the total number of cases in the last fortnight, were recorded among people aged 85 and over.
Some 45 children were hospitalized with the virus in the past fortnight, but none were sent to the ICU.
A total of 40 people died from Covid-19 between February 14 and February 27 with 675 people hospitalized, including 30 patients admitted to the ICU, according to HPSC data.
1,628 cases were reported to be associated with conglomerates, while 14 cases were classified as “imported” during the second half of February. Some 494 healthcare workers tested positive for the virus during that period.
Co Offaly had the highest incidence rate per 100,000 people with 395.1 during the last fortnight, followed by Longford with 369.4, Dublin with 288.9 and Limerick with 282.7. Cork and Kerry counties had the lowest incident rate in the second half of February.
The vast majority of the cases recorded in the latest data were related to close contact with a confirmed case. Community transmission also accounted for a large number of cases, while healthcare settings and related travel for a much smaller percentage.
Also on Monday, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly met with his counterparts from other European Union member states to discuss the impact of Covid-19 variants.
A videoconference was held between the health ministers of the bloc, as well as representatives of the European Commission, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
“We need to act now to combat the threat posed by emerging and future variants of Covid-19. It is vital to protect and maintain the efficacy of existing and newly developed vaccines, ”said Donnelly.
Donnelly reiterated Ireland’s support for the common EU approach to vaccine procurement; “It is imperative that companies meet their commitments to facilitate the long-awaited significant increase in supply during this quarter.”
Vaccines
A total of 285,780 people in the Republic had received the Covid-19 vaccine as of Friday, February 26, including 140,290 who received their second injection.
Professor Brian MacCraith, chair of the Vaccine Task Force, has said that the first doses for people over the age of 85 will be completed this week and that vaccination of people aged 80 to 84 will begin.
Those with specific medical conditions like cancer and chronic kidney disease and the immunosuppressed will begin getting vaccinated starting next week, March 8.
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar urged people on Sunday night to “keep doing what you are doing”, that the efforts so far are “working” and to remember that “summer is coming.” In a tweet, Mr. Varadkar wrote: “Our schools are starting to reopen, the number of people in the hospital with Covid will probably drop below 500 from a peak of 2k, we should have also administered half a million vaccines to people more at risk. “
Monday morning saw tens of thousands of first- and second-year, first- and second-class babies, and Leaving Certificate students return to school for the first time in months. The use of so-called “rapid” Covid-19 tests is slated to receive the green light for use in tracking outbreaks in schools and other areas of the community.
The recommendation, scheduled for the first half of this month, will be made by a group led by Professor Mark Ferguson, CEO of Science Foundation Ireland, who is tasked with looking at the use of antigen tests.
Their use has met with resistance as they are less sensitive than PCR tests, which are considered to be of a higher standard.
Meanwhile, a protest over Covid-19 restrictions in Dublin city center over the weekend turned violent, with 23 people arrested and charges against 13 people have been filed in court so far.
Gardaí believes they have identified a group that launched fireworks at officers on Grafton Street and they hope to make more arrests soon.
Dr Philip Nolan, a member of the National Public Health Emergency Team, told Newstalk’s On the Record program on Sunday that he anticipated “a phasing out of restrictions over time from April / May” and that widespread vaccinations they can allow “many of the restrictions”. [TO]they fall off pretty fast. “
Six deaths and 612 cases were confirmed on Sunday and, despite slow progress in reducing the number of infections, Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr. Ronan Glynn said there were “more concrete reasons for hope and optimism now than in any other time in the last 12 months. “
It is understood that the current projections are between 150 and 350 cases per day for April 5, the date on which the government has suggested that there could be a relaxation of the restrictions.
Meanwhile, the European Union plans to work to develop digital medical certificates to recognize the vaccination status of people across the continent. Such a system would take approximately three months to develop.
However, the World Health Organization (WHO) special envoy for Covid-19, Dr. David Nabarro, said last week that he did not believe that having a vaccine passport should allow people to travel and that still not enough people had been vaccinated to allow that trip. “We are not at that point yet. I don’t think it will arrive in three months, ”he added.
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