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Ireland can quickly reduce the number of Covid-19 cases, if those with symptoms or tests positive isolate themselves and everyone else limits their contacts, the medical director said.
However, Dr. Tony Holohan said it was too early to say that the country had turned upside down following the introduction of Level 5 restrictions last week.
There were fewer than 1,000 new cases of Covid-19 in three of the past four days, the Medical Director said, and the positivity rate was slightly lower, at 5.7%.
Dr Holohan said the numbers were moving in the direction that public health authorities wanted, but it was definitely not at the stage where they could say that Ireland had turned the corner.
The country would see a significant suppression of the virus in the coming weeks and expected it to be suppressed low enough.
The National Public Health Emergency Team also warned that deaths had more than doubled this month compared to September.
Interactive map: Covid-19 cases in your area
Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said on Twitter that while it was “too early to say we’ve made a turn,” there are “some positive indicators that give hope.”
He said that cases per 100,000 in the past seven days suggest that cases are declining in most counties and also noted that the test positivity rate has dropped to 5.7%.
“There is a lot more to do, but our individual actions are having an effect,” said Donnelly.
Tony Holohan said he believed the contact tracing system was robust.
He said the breakdown in the system just over a week ago, as well as a shortage of staff at the National Virus Reference Laboratory were not a factor in the slightly lower figures.
Although he said it was possible that some close contacts were not detected due to the problems.
But he said he had “some hope and optimism” about the progress the country could make.
If people who tested positive were isolated and everyone else limited their contacts, he said, the country could return to low case levels quickly.
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