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Ireland’s first blockade was by far the longest in Europe for nonessential bars, restaurants, cinemas and shops, according to a new report.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) health system policy tracker states that public spaces defined as parks, restaurants, bars, cinemas, shops and non-essential services were closed in Ireland for 120 days from March 12.
The country with the next highest number of days on which public spaces were closed was Finland (74 days) followed by Slovakia (66 days) and Bulgaria and Estonia (both 65 days).
The Health at a Glance: Europe 2020 report covers 36 countries in Europe, including the EU 27, the UK, Turkey, Switzerland and Norway.
Ireland was also one of only six countries out of 36 to close primary and secondary schools until the summer holidays, the others being Bulgaria, Finland, Italy, Spain and Latvia.
The report noted that before the pandemic Ireland had the lowest number of intensive care unit (ICU) beds in Europe at 5 per 100,000 compared to an EU 14 (EU members before 2004) average of 12, 9 per 100,000.
However, it also notes that Ireland has added 399 new ICU beds (an extra 8.1 per 100,000) during the Covid-19 pandemic.
ICU beds
At the height of the pandemic in April, two-thirds of ICU beds in the Republic were occupied by Covid-19 patients. Only Italy, where images of invaded ICU rooms were common, had higher occupancy rates, 78%.
Ireland had the second highest level of health spending as a result of Covid-19 at € 274 per capita, followed by Germany (€ 302) and the United Kingdom (€ 446), but Irish figures were only up to May 12 .
Deaths in Ireland among those over 65 were the third highest in Europe relative to population. The rate in early October in Ireland was 2,359 deaths per million. Only Belgium and England / Wales had higher death rates.
Mortality rates in Ireland of 390 per million are similar to the EU / UK average of 380 per million. The countries with the highest death rates were Belgium (1,015), Spain (764) and the United Kingdom (699 per million).
The report notes that in almost all countries in Europe at least 90 percent of Covid-19 deaths occurred among people aged 60 and over.
In many countries, roughly half or more of Covid-19 deaths occurred among residents of long-term care (LTC) facilities.
To date, Europe has had two major waves of infections with 10 million cases and 265,000 deaths. Death rates for Covid-19 patients are estimated to be between 0.17 and 1.7 percent of those infected.
The report noted that some European countries, such as Norway and Finland, have been better able to contain the spread of the virus, partly due to geographic factors (lower population density), but also due to more preparedness and testing, tracking and monitoring. fast and effective. follow-up strategy and greater trust and compliance of citizens with government regulations and recommendations.
Outside of Europe, the four OECD countries in the Asia / Pacific region (Korea, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand) have successfully controlled the Covid-19 outbreak by introducing effective testing, tracking, and isolation policies, as well as trust and compliance with social distancing and other key guidelines.
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