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Four more people have died and 744 new cases of Covid-19 have emerged, as Dr. Tony Holohan warns of a “deteriorating disease trajectory.”
The medical director said he expects higher numbers to be recorded when testing intensifies after Christmas.
And he delivered a tough message to the public: “If we do not act now to stop the spread of COVID-19, we will not be able to protect those in our society who are most at risk of serious illness or death.
“Stay home, don’t visit friends or family unless you are providing essential care and have no visitors in your home. Follow public health advice. “
The worsening public health situation continues despite an apparently slow distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine in Ireland.
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar admitted that Ireland is slower in rolling out the Covid-19 vaccine, but promised “we will catch up.”
HSE chief Paul Reid said implementation will begin now on Tuesday, a day earlier than planned.
Varadkar said the restrictions should not be eased until vulnerable people and healthcare workers are vaccinated and some of the rules will be in effect until at least the summer.
Mr. Varadkar was asked why there is a delay in the administration of the vaccine here during an interview on the On the Record program with Gavan Reilly from Newstalk.
The Fine Gael leader said he’s not 100% sure why the launch shouldn’t start until Wednesday.
He added: “I have been told that it only takes a couple of days to organize things.”
He said that while some people may have been vaccinated in the early days, “the authorities thought it best to start on Wednesday and start correctly.”
Mr. Varadkar said: “10,000 doses have arrived and approximately 40,000 doses arrive each week starting in January.”
“I think we will probably start a little slower than other countries.
“But we’ll catch up. I don’t see it as a race. I think it’s important that we get it right.”
Varadkar said that he expects the Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines to be approved next month.
Of the cases reported today: 246 are in Dublin, 131 are in Cork, 51 are in Limerick, 40 are in Wexford, 33 are in Donegal and the remaining 243 cases are spread over 19 other counties.
Dr. Holohan said: “We have seen a significant increase in the number of hospitalizations in the last two weeks from less than 190 to 324 today.
“This indicates a deterioration in the trajectory of the disease nationwide and is a significant reminder of the severity of this disease.
“There have been further increases in key COVID-19 indicators across the country and the growth rate of the epidemic has accelerated in recent days.
“Due to the lower volume of testing that was conducted on Christmas Day and yesterday, we believe there are higher levels of disease circulating in the community than reflected by the case numbers reported today.
“We therefore expect to see a large increase in reported cases in the coming days.”
The Center for Health Protection Surveillance confirmed that there have now been a total of 2,204 COVID-19 related deaths in Ireland.
And now there are a total of 86,129 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ireland.
388 of the new cases are men, 354 are women, 64 percent are under 45 years old, and the mean age is 34 years.
As of 8 a.m. today, 324 COVID-19 patients are hospitalized, of which 26 are in the ICU. There were 50 additional hospitalizations in the last 24 hours.
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