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PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICIALS tonight have confirmed 606 additional Covid-19 cases and three deaths in Ireland tonight.
Tonight’s figures bring the total number of Covid-19 cases in Ireland to 232,758, with a death toll of 4,631.
This evening’s briefing was led by Deputy Medical Director Dr Ronan Glynn, along with Professor Philip Nolan, Chair of the Epidemiological Modeling Advisory Group of Ireland, Dr Miriam Owens, HSE Director of Public Health and Dr. Lorraine Nolan from the Health Products Regulatory Authority.
This is what was discussed:
Case numbers
- Professor Philp Nolan said that the number of cases has stagnated or is slowly increasing, between 550 and 600 cases per day.
The number of daily cases has become static or started to increase slightly, Professor Nolan said, and 606 cases were reported today.
According to Nolan, current decline rates are between 0% and 2% per day, which would lead to doubling in about 35 days or more.
The reproduction number is also uncertain, but it is estimated between 1 and 1.3.
Nolan highlighted some reasons that are potentially behind the stasis in the number of cases, including an increase in attendance at workplaces in late February, before falling around the St. Patrick’s Day bank holiday and then increasing again.
“There is a clear association between the level of attendance in the workplace and whether schools are open or closed,” Nolan said, referring to the fact that attendance at workplaces decreased during the midterm holidays.
When asked what people can do to further reduce the lowercase numbers, Glynn highlighted the progress that has been made, including reducing incidence rates in the age cohorts 18-24 and older than 65.
“We know that the vast majority of people are doing their best. We know, for example, that 90% of people, nine out of 10 people, do not visit other homes, ”Glynn said.
“That is phenomenal. It’s a huge request for people who continue to do it for such a long period of time, but continue to do so. “
Nolan also highlighted a growing incidence of Covid-19 in children, but suggested that this may also be related to a large increase in referrals for tests for children because parents were more aware that they might have the virus since they returned from schools. .
Vaccination
- Dr. Ronan Glynn said that while there is currently no guidance for those who have already been vaccinated, NPHET will consider it at its meeting next week.
According to Glynn, GPs have contacted saying they are seeing a lack of clarity around a “vaccine voucher.”
The deputy CMO referenced examples of GPs saying that people who have been vaccinated believe they are protected in the days and weeks immediately following the injection.
“It is an incorrect assumption. People should assume they are unprotected and unprotected for up to two weeks after receiving their second dose of vaccine, “Glynn explained.
However, he stressed that the country will begin to return to a level of normality as the level of vaccination increases in the younger cohorts.
Glynn used so much the impact of vaccination on the prevalence of Covid-19 in nursing homes, that it has dramatically decreased.
“Brighter days are ahead,” he said, adding that people should continue to follow the guidelines.
“It will bring us back to a level of normalcy, that, that we really haven’t experienced since, since 2019 effectively.”
The deputy CMO was also asked if those who had been fully vaccinated could meet indoors, or without social distancing or wearing masks.
He said that while NPHET was hoping to issue an updated advice over the next week, current public health guidelines still apply to those who have been vaccinated.
“People have to assume that they are not protected and that they have no protection until two weeks after receiving their second dose of vaccine,” he said.
“For most people in the community, we are a good number of weeks away from that scenario.”
Community test
According to Dr. Miriam Owens, approximately 1,600 people attended the HSE community testing centers today.
The centers are currently located in areas of high Covid-19 prevalence, and people who do not have symptoms are encouraged to attend.
Owens said centers will be evaluated every day and acceptance will be monitored. The centers are likely to be placed in “black spots” or areas of high Covid-19 incidence.
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“We will go where the need is greatest and that is where the greatest risk of disease is at that time,” he explained.
He also encouraged anyone who has a testing center within their 5km radius, and if they have no Covid-19 symptoms to come and get tested.
“Anyone who wants to come will not be turned away.”
However, people showing symptoms of Covid-19 should not attend and should consult their GP to arrange a Covid-19 test in the traditional way.
Schools
- Professor Philip Nolan played down suggestions that the recent stabilization in Covid-19 cases is linked to outbreaks in schools.
Despite a series of outbreaks in school settings, the chair of the NPHET Epidemiology Modeling Advisory Group explained that they were not driving the recent plateau in case numbers.
Rather, Nolan explained, there was a correlation between social visits and schools reopening for a number of reasons, including children playing together outside of school, children visiting each other’s homes, and adults more relaxed with their friends. restrictions.
“There is a complex interaction between whether schools are open or closed and the level of social mixing,” he said.
“I know it’s somewhat controversial for me to say it, but simply because things happen at the same time […] it does not imply a cause and effect relationship between the return to learning and an increase in the number of cases detected in children in the classroom ”.
Nolan also said that NPHET would be monitoring the situation in the schools for the next several weeks, when all classes return as expected after Easter.
Dr. Miriam Owens added that most cases among school-age children go undetected in educational settings.
“We are not detecting a very significant transmission in schools,” he said.
“The children are reflecting what is in the community, and what seems to be happening in the community is that people have been coming together, and perhaps not appreciating the risk.”
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