Taoiseach concerned about the high number of cases

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Taoiseach Micheál Martin will meet with the CEO of AstraZeneca tonight, though he has also said he is concerned that the number of new Covid-19 cases remains high.

Speaking on RTÉ’s Six One News, Martin said the number of cases will determine the government’s announcement regarding restrictions that could be eased on April 5, which are currently understood to include construction and the 5km limit.

“We all agree now that we must proceed with caution. There is no point opening and having to close again. We want to do this in a sensible way. That means people have to stay with us on this,” he said.

His interview came after the Health Department said it has been notified of ten more deaths associated with Covid-19 and 646 additional cases.

The number of people in intensive care remains at 87.

The median age of those who died was 67 years and the age range was 41 to 83 years.

Four deaths occurred in March, one occurred in February, one occurred in January, and the other four are under investigation.

The total number of Covid-19 related deaths in Ireland is 4,518.

The number of people in intensive care remains the same at 87.

Martin said there is a significant challenge in relation to supplying AstraZeneca in Europe.

He said that the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, is “extremely frustrated” by the inability of the company to fulfill the supply, which has “manifested itself in a reduction of the supplies for Ireland”.

He said there will be a total of more than 600,000 doses of the vaccine administered in Ireland by the end of today.

He said Ireland is ready to help in whatever way it can to help improve vaccine production as part of overall European production.

“This is a global supply problem, so all efforts and attention must be focused on how we can increase the capacity to produce more vaccines more quickly,” Martin said.

He said he was concerned that protectionism could take hold in terms of vaccine supply.

Martin said vaccines will be part of his next conversation with US President Joe Biden.

“There is an ongoing discussion between Europe and the United States and it is in that context that I will have a discussion with the American president,” he said.

Of the cases reported today, 311 are men and 322 are women.

The median age is 30 years, with 74% younger than 45 years.

Of the new cases, 243 were in Dublin, 80 in Kildare, 45 in Meath, 35 in Galway, 34 in Offaly and the remaining 209 cases are spread over 20 other counties.

There have been 225,820 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Ireland.

At 8 a.m. M., 344 Covid-19 patients are in the hospital.

There were 16 additional hospitalizations in the past 24 hours.

As of Tuesday, 553,161 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine had been administered in Ireland, and 396,089 people had received their first dose.

A total of 157,072 people have received their second dose.

The 14-day incidence rate per 100,000 inhabitants through March 11 is 159.3, while the seven-day incidence rate is 77.2.

The five-day moving average is 523.

Mr. Martin said that the Government will be “operating” the legislation on mandatory quarantine in hotels for arrivals to the country within a week.

He said it has taken time to ensure that the balance of legal rights has been properly calibrated.

“We are the first country in the European Union that is doing something of this magnitude,” Martin said.

When asked if contracts had been signed, he said “work was in progress.”

Yesterday, the deputy chief medical officer appealed to parents not to see the return of the remaining elementary school classes next Monday as a sign to return to work.

Dr. Ronan Glynn also cautioned that if employers ask people who do not need to go to work to return to work, they are putting everything that has been earned at risk.

There was also a very steep drop in the incidence of Covid-19 in people over the age of 85 who do not reside in nursing homes last week.

It was reduced by 50% compared to the previous week, a clear benefit of the launch of vaccination by GPs in the community during the previous three weeks.

Meanwhile, the National Immunization Advisory Committee has said there is no change to advice on the use of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine in light of reports of clotting problems in a small number of people who had received the injection.

In a statement, the NIAC said it is aware of reports that some EU member states have suspended the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine as a precautionary measure.

He said the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has reviewed the available evidence and stated that the benefits of this vaccine outweigh any potential risks and it can continue to be used.

He also said that the EMA is conducting more detailed assessments.

The NIAC also said that the UK regulatory body MRHA has reviewed post-use data for 11 million doses of this vaccine in Britain and also recommended that its use in the vaccination program not be changed.

CANI said it will continue to review the situation.

He had separately recommended to NPHET that the AstraZeneca vaccine now be given to the older age groups.

In Northern Ireland, 100 British military doctors have been deployed to help accelerate its vaccination program.

One more coronavirus death was recorded in Northern Ireland today, bringing the official Health Department number to 2,097.

There are 208 new test cases on 1,785 people.

There are 183 confirmed Covid-19 patients in the hospital, with 23 in the ICU, 18 of whom are on respirators.

The 7-day average incidence rate is 69.7, the highest since March 3.



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