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Fears of increased Covid-19 restrictions for other urban and localized areas are growing after the government imposed Level 3 restrictions on universities, which will see the majority of tuition move online.
While tertiary institutions will remain open during the move and will last up to three weeks, all lectures and most tutorials are expected to migrate online. Students will be encouraged to stay home rather than travel to their campus. Libraries and laboratories in universities are expected to remain open, but with social distancing measures in place and entry regulation. All social activities on campus have been suspended.
Higher Education Minister Simon Harris said the decision was based on experience in other jurisdictions where there were significant increases in coronavirus cases after universities reopened.
He also said it was a response to the current situation in Ireland, where the country faced “two critical weeks” in its efforts to curb the disease.
“Despite all the protective measures that have been put in place by our higher-level institutions, you will appreciate that there is now growing concern about the impact of the resumption on the campus of [student] activity will have on the fragile epidemiological situation that exists today.
“We ask people to show common sense. If you don’t have to walk across the country to attend a conference, you shouldn’t have to, ”she said.
Urban centers
Taoiseach Micheál Martin warned on Friday that urban centers could have Covid-19 restrictions increased to Level 3, pointing to concerns particularly over Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford. He indicated that the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) can advise in terms of particularly localized restrictions.
Acting Medical Director Ronan Glynn said Friday night that there was “every chance other areas would have to move to level 3” but said “there is nothing inevitable about it” and that people can work together to ” change the course of your virus. ” .
Co Donegal moved to Level 3 starting at midnight, with gardaí to begin a highly visible and targeted operation starting Saturday, including cross-border checkpoints in cooperation with the PSNI.
A further 326 Covid-19 cases were confirmed in the state Friday night, including 152 in Dublin, 32 in Cork, 21 in Galway and 22 in Donegal. The number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in hospitals reached 102, up from 100 for the first time since early June.
Contact markers
Meanwhile, it has emerged that contact trackers will begin investigating where people are infected with Covid-19, after the state’s public health team admitted this week that it cannot say where cases are occurring in the community.
In a letter to the government, NPHET said that retrospective contact tracing would gather additional information on Covid-19 cases so far labeled only as “community transmission.”
An HSE source said the tracking teams will now play as a “detective” and investigate the movements and contacts of a confirmed case in much more detail to identify bars, gyms and restaurants at risk.
The HSE has been asked, separately, to explore proposals to significantly increase the level of Covid-19 testing available.
Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has told senior government officials that he believes the level of testing should be increased substantially before the winter period.
It is understood that the HSE has been asked to produce an options document on significantly increased testing capacity.
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