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The latest informational meeting of the National Public Health Emergency Team has heard that the infection rate is “static” and no further improvement is expected in the coming weeks.
The briefing heard that there have been six more deaths and 183 new cases, bringing the total to 73,228 cases.
However, deputy chief medical officer Dr. Ronan Glynn said a technical problem may have resulted in an underreporting of around 100 cases.
There have been 183 cases of Covid-19 and six more Covid-related deaths reported by the Department of Health.
Dr. Ronan Glynn has said that this may be an underreporting of up to 100 cases due to an IT problem | Read more: https://t.co/FQAxvsK6bI pic.twitter.com/d2hQDqn3uT
– RTÉ News (@rtenews) December 3, 2020
Of the cases reported today, 82 are men and 101 are women, with 60% of them under 45 years of age. The average age is 36 years.
Dublin accounts for 56 of the cases, 26 were detected in Donegal, 13 in Limerick, 11 in Kilkenny, 11 in Monaghan and the remaining 66 spread over 15 other counties.
There are 32 people being treated for Covid-19 in intensive care units across the country, one more than yesterday.
At 2 p.m., there were 239 people who were treated at the hospital with Covid-19. There were 10 additional hospitalizations in the last 24 hours.
The chair of NPHET’s Irish Epidemiological Modeling Advisory Group, Professor Philip Nolan, said there have been big improvements in Covid-19 indicators compared to the end of October.
He said the 14-day incidence rate per 100,000 people has dropped from a high of 307 in late October to 80 now.
There have been big improvements in Covid-19 indicators compared to the end of October, said Professor Philip Nolan.
He said the incidence rate of 14 days per 100,000 inhabitants has fallen from a high of 307 at the end of October to 80 | Read more: https://t.co/FQAxvsK6bI pic.twitter.com/1h6vTVKhe7
– RTÉ News (@rtenews) December 3, 2020
Professor Nolan said the testing rate is high by international standards and the positivity rate stands at around 2.7%, which he said is more or less constant.
He said there had been a rapid decline in cases in early November, but that it is slowing down.
The number of cases dropped from 1,200 to 264 and the numbers were expected to be lower, but this has not happened.
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Professor Nolan said that we are at a “constant level of disease” and that we have reached the maximum of achievements during the last six weeks.
If the reproduction number increases to 2 during the Christmas period, it would significantly accelerate the spread of Covid-19, said Professor Philip Nolan.
He said this would see between 800 and 1,200 cases per day in mid-January | Read more: https://t.co/FQAxvsK6bI pic.twitter.com/sifLWSTkS7
– RTÉ News (@rtenews) December 3, 2020
The infection rate is “3 to 4 times higher” than we would have liked and he urged people to exercise “extreme caution” to avoid an increase in infection during Christmas and New Years, he added.
Relating to the ‘R’ number, he said that two to three weeks ago it was in the 0.6 region, but now it is closer to one.
There is concern that the ‘R’ number could reach 1.4 unless people are exceptionally careful to restrict their movements, Professor Nolan said.
Where we meet in January depends largely on the mantra that every contact counts, and the more contacts we have, the higher the reproduction rate, the higher the number of cases, added Professor Nolan.
He said his personal goal is to limit close personal contacts to four people per week and said it is up to each of us to keep the level of weekly contacts as low as reasonable.
He said the numbers had been trending down to an R-number of 0.7-0.9 and it was reasonable to expect more gains, but that hasn’t happened.
The ‘R’ number is now close to 1 and the case numbers are static. He said “he’s not disappointed, he’s just realistic” and that we need to keep contact numbers low.
Medical Director Dr. Tony Holohan said there is an average of three contacts per confirmed case, which is too much if we want to maintain the current level of infection.
He urged people not to participate in “discretionary socialization” for the next several weeks and asked people who do not normally reside here to postpone going home and that people here not take vacations abroad.
Regarding vaccines, Dr. Holohan said they were another means to protect against Covid-19, but warned that it would not spell the end of other hygiene measures.
Medical Director Dr. Tony Holohan has said that ‘we are in a potentially exciting situation’ regarding Covid-19 vaccines.
However, he added that this will not eliminate the need for social distancing measures in the coming weeks and months. Read more: https://t.co/FQAxvsK6bI pic.twitter.com/NHXIDm2yht
– RTÉ News (@rtenews) December 3, 2020
He said that vaccination will start with a particular cohort of people, but that a high level of compliance with public health guidelines will continue to be required for the rest of the population.
Dr. Holohan said that misinformation about vaccines was becoming a growing problem and concern. He said vaccines are one of the most cost-effective interventions science has ever provided to protect public health.
Additionally, Dr. Glynn urged people not to trust unsubstantiated information online about Covid-19 vaccines.
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