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The Department of Health has reported five additional deaths related to Covid-19 and 617 confirmed cases of the disease, including 123 in Dublin and 107 in Cork.
This brings the number of deaths from the disease in the state to 1,821 with a total of 40,703 cases since the start of the pandemic.
Fewer than one in five of the new cases (123 out of 617) occurred in Dublin, the smallest proportion in recent months. There were also 107 cases in Cork, 42 in Meath, 36 in Kerry, 35 in Galway, and the remaining 274 cases were located in 21 counties.
Of the new cases, about 73% are under the age of 45, while 33% are confirmed to be associated with outbreaks or are close contacts of a confirmed case.
The 617 cases reported on Friday is, by a slight margin, the highest daily number since late April.
Medical director Dr. Tony Holohan said the disease profile continued to deteriorate. “We continue to see a large number of daily cases. It is vital that we interrupt the transmission of the virus now.
There have been 32 additional hospitalizations and eight ICU admissions in the past 24 hours, he noted.
“Not [the National Public Health Emergency Team] continues to monitor the situation, however, it is an early individual action that is needed to suppress the virus. Follow public health advice and do your part to make an impact on the disease. “
Earlier on Friday, the chairman of Nphet’s Epidemiological Modeling Advisory Group said there has been an “exponential growth” of Covid-19 infection in Ireland along with “rapid increases” in the number of people admitted to hospital and the ICU.
Prof Philip Nolan on Covid-19: “The number of people in the hospital is growing exponentially.” Photograph: Brian Lawless / PA Wire
Professor Philip Nolan said that as of Thursday afternoon there were 172 people in the hospital, 22 of those admissions in the previous 24 hours, with 27 people in the ICU.
He said that at the worst of the pandemic there were 60 to 80 hospital admissions and 10 to 15 ICU admissions per day over a four-week period.
“We are almost a quarter of the way towards those admission rates. We must change course now, ”he said on Twitter. “The number of people hospitalized is now growing exponentially.”
Professor Nolan said there are very few counties where the incidence rate is not increasing and “no county where the incidence is not a cause for concern.”
The number of people hospitalized is growing exponentially. We made this simple exponential adjustment to the hospital data last Friday, October 1; Although we expected it, I am still concerned that the numbers follow this exponential curve. 6/7 pic.twitter.com/pIlbs7yz9T
– Professor Philip Nolan (@President_MU)
October 8, 2020
He said the exponential growth of Covid-19 infection should “cause each and every one of us to stop, reflect, and resolve again to do our part to eliminate the virus, now and quickly.”
“The call to action is the same as it has been for weeks, but now it is much more urgent: radically limit our discretionary social contacts, maintain physical distance and safe practices when we meet, isolate ourselves, and ask for help with any Covid symptoms. -19 ”, he added.
On Thursday another 506 cases of Covid-19 and one death from the virus were confirmed in the state.
Lifford / Stranorlar in Co Donegal remains the national “hotspot” for Covid-19, with a 14-day incidence of 602.6 cases per 100,000 people, according to the figures.
This is more than five times the national average of 116.4, figures published in the government data center show.
Granard in Co Longford has the second highest incidence nationally, at 384.1, while Monaghan’s local constituency ranks third, at 317.3. Kimmage / Rathmines has the highest incidence in Dublin, at 306.1, and the fourth highest figure nationally.
Concerning trends
Health Services Executive (HSE) CEO Paul Reid said Friday that 19,500 Covid-19 tests were carried out on Thursday, a new daily record.
Reid said last week’s numbers had been shocking. “That’s the volume we’re at, that’s the trend,” he told Newstalk Breakfast.
The public needed to take a look at those numbers and act appropriately.
“If someone is looking at the trends and numbers that are coming in right now, it’s pretty serious.
“That is the volume we are at, the trend we are seeing and that is the concern: people must now take a radical look at everything we are doing. I’m serious.”
Mr. Reid urged the public not to meet people they did not need to meet and to avoid having others visit their homes for the next several weeks.
Regardless of what the government or Nphet did, the biggest impact on the numbers would be public behavior: “what people do.”
“We are all on the same page that our hospital service is being challenged, and we watch it very closely every day, and we want to keep all other services up and running.”
There was no disagreement between the health service and Nphet, he said. Everyone was equally concerned about the impact of a total shutdown.
There are currently about 41 fully staffed ICU beds available in the health care system, while there was capacity to expand if needed, but that would mean stopping some other health services, he said.
“We don’t want to get anywhere near those levels.”
‘The smallest of windows’
HSE Clinical Director Colm Henry warned that there is “the slightest window to stop the growth of the virus.”
Dr. Henry told RTÉ Radio 1’s Morning Ireland that there was funding for ICU beds, but that it was a system that needed trained experts. The baseline for the number of beds was 256, he said. Funding needed to be secured to reach the 450 target by the end of 2022.
Every winter hospitals were used to dealing with surges, the health service was likely to experience individual pressure points rather than being overwhelmed, he said.
But Dr. Henry warned that the situation was now more difficult, as in March and April, during the first wave, hospitals had “cleared the covers” and were now providing other services.
Covid-19 levels in Northern Ireland were also a concern, he said. They were “alarmingly high” and the ability to control the border areas was important.
“We need a plan for all the islands,” he said.
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