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Ireland yesterday passed a terrifying new marker when it comes to the pandemic, recording its highest daily number of Covid-19 cases on record.
In response, the government last night announced a nationwide ban on home visiting for the next four weeks and placed three border counties, Cavan, Donegal and Monaghan, under level four restrictions.
Ireland’s National Public Health Emergencies Team (NPHET) will also meet today after 1,095 cases of the virus were recorded on Wednesday.
It is believed that there are more restrictions on the table.
(Image: Gareth Chaney / Collins)
This is everything you need to know about the current Covid-19 situation.
NPHET to discuss new restrictions
As the number of cases continues to rise, Ireland’s public health team will meet today to discuss how to stop the staggering spread of Covid-19 across the country.
NPHET officials are likely to continue to push for stricter restrictions across the country, after warning last week that a level five lockdown was needed to control the virus.
Medical Director Tony Holohan said yesterday that the case numbers are “extremely worrying.
“Each of us has a role to play,” said Dr. Holohan.
Taoiseach Ultimate
Taoiseach Micheál Martin warned last night that things “can get worse before they get better”, warning people that normal life will not resume until a vaccine is found.
In announcing new restrictions, Martin said the figures for Ireland (we are now at 190 per 100,000 nationally) are “very worrying.
(Image: Julien Behal Photography / PA Wire)
“We are living in difficult times and things can get worse before they get better,” he said.
Meanwhile, Continuing and Higher Education Minister Simon Harris said this morning that it is “likely but not inevitable” that more counties will move to level four.
Many were confused by the new restrictions on home visits
The new restrictions announced last night mean that home visiting is no longer allowed (except in essential circumstances or for compassionate reasons) across the country.
The measure, which runs until Nov. 10, has caused widespread confusion on social media, particularly when it comes to the details of what constitutes an essential reason.
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On Twitter, Professor Brian Lucey from Trinity College Dublin noted that there are almost 400,000 single-person households according to the 2016 Irish Census.
“And are they basically supposed to live without social contact?” I ask.
Others questioned the logic of allowing alfresco dining in pubs and restaurants while homes are closed.
Hospital update
While the number of cases shot up to a record yesterday, the latest HSE figures show a further drop in the number of people hospitalized with the virus.
The number of patients undergoing treatment in intensive care units remains at 30.
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