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There have been 825 new cases and one more coronavirus-related death confirmed by the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet).
The latest figures on Monday night bring the number of confirmed cases in the state since the pandemic began to 43,531, while the death toll now stands at 1,827.
At a press conference at the Department of Health Monday night, Medical Director Dr. Tony Holohan urged everyone to act and “break the chains of transmission” of the virus as soon as possible.
With 224 Covid-19 patients in the hospital, including 32 in intensive care, Dr. Holohan said virus positivity rates are “increasing rapidly” in all counties.
Almost 8,000 cases have been reported in the last 14 days, and there is an incidence of 168 cases per 100,000 in 14 days, compared to 108 at the beginning of the week.
With the number of nursing homes affected by outbreaks rising to 11 last week from seven the previous week, Dr. Holohan said there was “no question” that additional deaths would occur in these settings if community transmission continued. increasing.
He criticized the “repugnance” of people returning to work in offices and asked the public to continue working at home if possible.
Now is not the time for house parties, game dates or birthday parties, he said, adding that “social activities” had sprung up around some sports activities.
Some people had “gone too far, met too many people, and drank too much” and this helped spread the virus.
Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr. Ronan Glynn again criticized the way people wore masks, saying there were too many on the chin or outside of the nose, or that they were constantly putting them on and off. Other masks were seen “hanging on the rearview mirror of the car, sticking out of people’s pockets” and, in some cases, they were shared when people took turns entering a store.
When asked about Halloween, Dr. Holohan clearly stated that it would not be a normal Halloween later this month and that “we cannot allow children and families to move from house to house” overnight.
Of the last cases in the Republic, 254 occurred in Dublin, 147 in Cork, 39 in Cavan, 38 in Donegal, 37 in Kildare and the remaining 310 cases are distributed in another 20 counties.
Approximately 78% of the new cases were under 45 years old, and the mean age was 30 years.
Cross-border infections
The figures emerge as discussions continue on whether additional regional or national restrictions are required to curb the rise in the number of Covid-19 cases.
Government sources said there were discussions in Dublin about a quick move to Level 4 for the Republic’s border counties in an attempt to limit cross-border infections.
This follows Monday’s news that North Korea’s chief medical officer, Dr. Michael McBride, is advocating a four- to six-week lockdown to halt rising infection rates in Northern Ireland.
Northern Ireland recorded three more deaths and 877 new Covid-19 cases on Monday when Stormont’s Executive Ministers met to consider Dr. McBride’s recommendation.
The death toll in the north from Covid-19 has risen to 591, while there have been 21,035 confirmed cases.
In the Republic, it was shown that border counties had the highest per capita increase in the last fortnight.
In Cavan, the 14-day incident rate per 100,000 residents was 385.9. In Donegal it was 354.9 and in Monaghan it was 330.7. The next highest counties were Clare at 266 and Roscommon at 199.9.
The national average was 167.8 per 100,000, covering the period from September 28 to October 11.
Meanwhile, the opposition parties were briefed on Monday by Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Dr. Holohan about the situation surrounding the pandemic.
Dr Holohan advised DTs that the figures for Dublin were “not yet conclusive” and that this could cast doubt on the effectiveness of the current Level 3 measures that were in place.
He was also asked about the delays in the approval of rapid test kits. It is understood that Dr. Holohan told opposition parties that he had received a document on antigen testing, but wanted to review it and test its validity.
In addition, the Taoiseach promised to consider a proposal by the co-leader of the Social Democrats Róisín Shortall to maintain “daylight saving time” and not change the clocks later this month. Ms. Shortall said at the meeting that this would provide more daylight in the evenings and make it easier for people to get outside for exercise and sunlight.
The meeting also heard that there was a € 25 million “bridge fund” in case private hospitals were needed again if public hospitals were overwhelmed. A project in agreement with individual hospitals has been finalized and at that time a greater amount of money will be reserved.
People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett asked health officials if a “Zero Covid” strategy would be implemented to crush the virus. It is understood that he was told that eliminating Covid entirely would not be possible given the open border, but that cases had to drop dramatically for testing and tracing to be effective.
Two month window
Earlier, the World Health Organization (WHO) special envoy on Covid-19, Dr. David Nabarro, said that there would be “a lot of illnesses and deaths in Ireland in the next two months” if people were not careful.
He said Ireland should focus on getting everyone to adhere to preventive measures. Dr. Nabarro told Newstalk Breakfast that there was a middle way between a complete lockdown and the easing of restrictions. A national blockade should only be considered when the numbers are “very bad.”
He also said he did not like fines for non-compliance with regulations and said he preferred that people choose to do the right thing.
High government figures have emphasized that there were no immediate plans for a brief shutdown, known as a “circuit breaker,” despite deterioration in coronavirus metrics over the weekend.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin on Sunday urged members of the public to change their behaviors so that “we can make Level 3 work, protect lives and livelihoods” and stop the spread of Covid-19.
Dr. Nabarro said that not going from Level 3 to Level 5 was risky. It would be from a month to six weeks before it was known if that had been the “right way”.
Dr. Nabarro pointed out that there has been a real accumulation of the virus in other parts of Europe, there was no reason to believe that Ireland was going to escape.
“If you are going to stay at Level 3, do everything you can to stop the spread of the virus,” he urged.
Ability to build
HSE COO Anne O’Connor has said the health service is building system-wide capacity for Covid-19 and non-Covid-19 pathways. The goal is for patients to be treated at home, in the community and in hospitals, he said.
Ms O’Connor told RTÉ Radio’s Today with Claire Byrne show that 700 healthcare workers participated in Covid testing and another 100 in contact tracing. The goal was for these workers to return to their jobs shortly, while contact tracing capacity was developed, as they would be needed during the winter to treat patients with Covid and non-Covid diseases.
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