Key points you need to know from tonight’s NPHET briefing

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PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICIALS confirmed another 462 Covid-19 cases and 39 deaths in Ireland tonight.

Tonight’s figures mean there have been a total of 221,649 Covid-19 cases in Ireland, along with 4,396 deaths.

Dr. Máirín Ryan.

This is what was discussed in tonight’s briefing.

Covid placentitis

  • Health officials were informed of four preliminary reports of stillbirths potentially associated with a Covid-19 complication.

Covid placentitis is an infection of the placenta that leads to fetal death. Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr. Ronan Glynn said the reports should be interpreted with caution, as coroners have yet to finalize their findings.

“The HSE National Women and Babies Program is aware of and is monitoring the situation and has issued a related advisory to the obstetric departments,” Dr. Glynn said.

All four cases involved pregnant women who tested positive for Covid-19.

Dr Glynn said in the briefing that there has not been a high incidence of the condition internationally and that he does not expect to see a high incidence in Ireland.

“It is important to reiterate again that these findings are preliminary, but we feel that we nonetheless have a duty to report those findings. And as soon as we have more information we will report it, ”he said.

I would tell women again that this does not change what they have to do, if they are pregnant and listen to this tonight. Ultimately, Covid represents a potential risk for all of us. And it’s not that individual women need to do something different in addition to what they’ve been doing.

Outbreak in the west

  • An outbreak in the west of Ireland caused 442 cases of Covid-19 mainly among young people.

Dr Breda Smyth described the details of an outbreak that emerged primarily among young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 in the west of Ireland. There have been 442 Covid-19 cases associated with this outbreak as of yesterday.

179 of the cases were linked to multiple household groups involving several different households.

These cases were distributed in 20 different household groups, ranging from two to 42 cases in each group.

145 cases were linked to outbreaks in a single household: 224 households were affected in total.

“In addition to this, not only was there infection among that community, but also, as an indirect effect of this, we saw the seeding in other settings,” said Dr. Smyth.

“So we had associated exposure, and in some cases transmission, in the hospitality sector, in the retail sector, also in some vulnerable environments, and there was also a cluster in another part of the country as a result of this outbreak.”

He said that a possible source of transmission was due to the movement of these young people to the region to receive education.

“Mainly, it was inter-household mixing and socializing, and within this population we identified some reports of some house parties,” Dr. Smyth said.

Dr. Smyth later confirmed that there have been no deaths associated with this outbreak.

Masks in young children

  • The advice on the use of masks among young children will remain the same.

The Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) tonight published its advice on the use of masks in young children.

This advice was sent to NPHET. He advised that there should be no change in the minimum age recommendation for wearing masks.

Currently, children over the age of 13 are expected to follow an adult’s guidance on using face masks.

Younger children may choose to wear a mask, or have it requested by a healthcare professional, but they do not need to use it in the same way.

HIQA Deputy Executive Director and Director of Health Technology Assessment, Dr. Máirín Ryan, said tonight: “As we know, the evidence points to the fact that the use of masks in the community reduces the transmission of Covid-19.

“However, in young children, the benefit of masks is probably small and may be affected by their reduced ability to comply with mask use.”

He said there is evidence that the reduction in transmission associated with mask use is reduced in younger children, which may be due in part to their lower ability to comply with face mask use.

Dr. Ryan said there is also a potential for anxiety and possible negative impacts on the “development of communication and language skills, particularly for very young children.”

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“Asking them to wear a mask to go back to school and add another difference to their school experience could increase their anxiety,” he said.

She added that it could increase anxiety about wearing masks, as parent representatives say that being out of school has had a “negative impact on their social confidence.”

Decreased incidence in older age groups

  • The incidence rate has fallen below the average for the population of people 65 and older, and there has been a complete change in mortality patterns in the last three weeks.

Professor Philip Nolan said that the previous “very high incidence” in people aged 65 and over has been reduced.

“Only in the last few days, for the first time, the incidence in all these age groups has fallen to or below the average of the population. So we have seen a very marked reduction in the number of cases in older people, ”he said.

Professor Nolan also said that the mortality pattern has “completely changed in the last three weeks.”

He pointed to a graph showing the proportion of deaths of people in the community outside of institutional settings and in nursing homes.

“The number of deaths per week in nursing homes has dropped dramatically and this is likely an early sign, as we said earlier, of the impact of vaccination.”

Double masking

  • Evidence has shown that wearing two masks can further prevent the spread of Covid-19. Dr. Ronan Glynn said there is “no harm” to the double mask, once both masks are worn correctly.

A study by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found last month that wearing two masks or a tight-fitting one offers significantly better protection against the capture and spread of Covid-19.

The study examined how to place a cloth mask over a medical procedure mask and also tie the earmuffs of a medical mask to improve the fit.

“Each modification substantially improved source control and reduced user exposure,” the study concluded.

When asked tonight about the benefits of wearing two masks, Dr. Ronan Glynn said, “Certainly, there is no harm in someone wearing a double mask, as long as they wear both masks correctly.

“The key point is that whether you wear one or two masks, you wear one or both correctly.

“So they need to be snug, tight, there should be no room for air to escape to the sides.”



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