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A massive effort is underway to expand monitoring of Covid-19 cases so that restrictions on economic and social life can be eased early next month.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar announced on Friday an extension of the current two-week shutdown by another three weeks, until after the May holiday weekend, to further curb the spread of the virus.
Mr. Varadkar said the government was working and planning a relaxation of the restrictions, but declined to say when this would occur.
But public health officials say any relief from the restrictions will depend on our ability to comprehensively assess the disease and trace contacts of confirmed cases so they can be followed up quickly.
“We just have to be in a situation where we can do a substantially greater amount of testing in the future than we are doing now,” said chief medical officer Dr. Tony Holohan last night.
With the testing system affected by long delays in the past month, Dr. Holohan said HSE was redoubling its efforts to offer a “fit for purpose” test and contact tracking system. People were working “day and night” in obtaining reagents, a vital chemical used in testing, and in developing laboratory capacity in Ireland and abroad, he said.
“We cannot be in a situation where delays of three to four days occur” in testing people suspected of having Covid-19, he said, and the testing capacity and reporting capacity would be expanded to address this challenge.
HSE CEO Paul Reid took the unprecedented step of appointing an external management consultant, Niamh O’Beirne, to oversee the escalation of Covid-19 testing and follow-up on contacts.
Of the deaths that have occurred so far, 54% occurred in nursing homes.
Ms. O’Beirne, from the EY consultants, who has been attached to HSE’s executive management team for six months, is also tasked with designing operational plans for “a gradual return to business as usual.”
Last night, the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) reported the death of 25 other patients diagnosed with Covid-19. There have now been 288 coronavirus-related deaths in the Republic.
The youngest
The youngest person to die with Covid-19 so far was 32 and the oldest was 105, according to a breakdown published by NPHET.
NPHET also reported 480 new confirmed cases on Friday, the second highest daily total. The total number of confirmed cases is now 7,054, or 8,089 when tests processed in Germany are included.
Of the deaths that have occurred so far, 54% occurred in nursing homes. In outbreak-affected nursing homes, one in five employees and one in six residents have tested positive, Dr. Holohan revealed.
At a press conference at Government Buildings on Friday, Mr. Varadkar said that, following the advice of public health experts, the restrictions have been extended until Tuesday, May 5.
Varadkar said Ireland had “slowed down the spread of the virus considerably, but unfortunately we have not stopped it.”
If progress continued for the next three weeks, then “we can hope” that the restrictions would ease. He added, however, that there was no guarantee that this would happen.
Lowering can be as dangerous as going up if not handled properly
Health Minister Simon Harris confirmed that he would extend the regulations that empower Garda to enforce the current restrictions during the same period, until midnight on May 4.
He said that at the start of the outbreak, infected people had been in contact with an average of 20 people.
“That dropped to 10, then to five, then to three, and now to two,” he said. The number of cases grew at a rate of 33% per day, he said. It was now below 10 percent. “But we have to lower it again.”
“Deadly revival”
The government’s decision to extend the restriction campaigns with the advice of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday, which warned that lifting the blocking measures too soon could lead to a “deadly resurgence” of infections.
“The descent can be as dangerous as the climb if it is not managed properly,” said WHO director Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Internationally, the number of deaths from coronavirus exceeded the 100,000 mark.
Meanwhile, the government will allow private sector medical specialists to treat their current patients who pay fees in the public system on the condition that they are not charged.
In the Government’s revised proposals, the HSE may also pay to use private rooms that consultants may have outside of the private hospital facilities if such arrangements are deemed necessary and represent good value for money.
The National Virus Reference Laboratory (NVRL) has obtained a new supply of chemicals that will allow it to carry out up to 10,000 tests per day.
NVRL has entered into an agreement with Genomics Medicine Ireland to supply reagents used to analyze swab samples taken from patients with suspected Covid-19 infection.
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