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The government may be forced to implement full Level 5 Covid-19 restrictions due to serious concerns about the number of people hospitalized with coronavirus and the high positivity rate of people being screened for the disease.
The number of people hospitalized for coronavirus has “increased dramatically” in the last two days, as the first effects of the third wave of the virus begin to affect the health system.
Dr. Tony Holohan, the state’s chief medical officer, said the “worrisome trend” of increasing hospital admissions reflects the “sharp rise” in Covid-19 rates seen in the past 10 days. “Now we have exceeded the cumulative number of people hospitalized in this third wave than in the second. Hospitalizations have increased dramatically in the last two days, ”he said.
A senior government source said that no stricter restrictions were discussed at Monday’s cabinet meeting, but that “it cannot be ruled out that the government will take further action in the coming days if the situation continues to deteriorate.”
“We are at level 5 with some adjustments and it is county and not 5 km,” the travel limits, the source said. “While we are seeing much lower numbers today and yesterday, the government is being told that it is artificially very low” because of the time of year, and there is an expectation that we will see very, very high numbers later this week, “he said. the fountain.
It is understood that Dr. Holohan reiterated his opinion to Health Minister Stephen Donnelly prior to the Cabinet meeting that full Level 5 restrictions may be required, with more people hospitalized now at the start of the third wave than at the peak of the second wave of the virus.
Intensive care
On Monday there were 359 Covid-19 patients in the hospital, 41 of whom had been admitted in the previous 24 hours. About 30 patients were in intensive care, five of whom were admitted in the previous 24 hours.
Dr. Holohan said public health officials were also concerned about a “sharp increase in positivity rates” from community tests, a metric that indicates the prevalence of the virus among the general population.
The current seven-day average rate of positive tests had risen to 9.2%, up from 5.2% on December 18. “This is just one more reason why we strongly advise everyone to stay safe at home to avoid transmitting or contracting this virus, as it continues to circulate widely,” he said.
The National Public Health Emergency Team reported another 765 confirmed cases of Covid-19 on Monday, as well as another coronavirus-related death.
Dr. Holohan said the drop in new cases compared to last week was likely due to fewer people being referred and coming for tests in the days leading up to Christmas.
Infectious disease expert Professor Sam McConkey said he was concerned this would result in a “significantly high” number of cases being reported as of the middle of this week. Professor McConkey said the increase in hospitalizations was “almost completely inevitable” given that the country was beginning to see more than 1,000 new cases a day.
Vaccinations
The first Covid-19 vaccines are expected to be administered at one of four acute care hospitals currently located in Dublin, Cork and Galway.
Donnelly updated Cabinet on the vaccination plan and stressed to his colleagues the importance of effective communication about the vaccine.
The minister had met Monday morning with the high-level working group on the vaccination program and told them that the only limitation that members should face is supply and that all the resources they need will be available.
But concern was expressed that the vaccination program was taking place against a backdrop of very worrying virus numbers and concerns about the new strain of the virus.
Several members of the cabinet asked for assurances that, as the supply “increases”, the health authorities will be able to match it with enough personnel to administer the injections, and that there will not be a significant lag between the arrival of the vaccines and the vaccinated people.
Donnelly assured his colleagues that the inoculation would be a full seven-day operation and not a five-day system as has been suggested. He reiterated that the only limitation would be the supply and all resources would be available.
The Minister also assured the Cabinet that they were collaborating with GPs and pharmacies after several ministers expressed concern that different GPs were raising questions about the timing of vaccines and the importance of collaborating with them.
A decision is also expected to be made on Tuesday on whether to extend or lift the ban on flights and ferries from Britain to Ireland, a government source said.
The travel ban was established out of fear of a new variant of Covid-19 identified in south-east England, and last week the ban was extended until December 31.
The new variant of Covid, which is believed to be significantly more transmissible, has since been detected in the Republic.
Dr Mike Ryan, executive director of health emergencies at the World Health Organization (WHO), said Britain should not be “unnecessarily punished” for alerting the world to the new strain of virus it identified.
Speaking at a WHO news conference on Monday, Dr. Ryan said that “closing countries with absolute measures” was not feasible, or necessarily the best public health response. “It is really important that transparent and open countries, such as South Africa and the United Kingdom, which are engaged in science on behalf of all of us, are not unduly and unnecessarily punished for their openness,” he said.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin said on Monday that he was genuinely concerned about the new variant of Covid-19 and its possible impact on Ireland. Speaking ahead of a special Cabinet meeting, he said the rapid rise in Covid-19 cases in the run-up to Christmas was also cause for concern.
Martin also defended the new measures that the Government has introduced in the face of the increase in Covid-19 levels. “We have introduced very tough level 5 measures,” he said.
“The only areas not covered are nonessential retail, the impact of which has been shown to be not huge, and [the decision not to reintroduce] restrictions of five kilometers from home. “
The Taoiseach said that much depended on behavior, individual and collective. “That’s the key,” he said, adding that reducing social contacts, wearing masks and observing other public health protocols were the best way to keep the numbers down.
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