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Private homes remain the main hotspot for Covid-19 transmission, accounting for more than 650 outbreaks last week amid ongoing concern about the impact Christmas gatherings could have.
New figures show that while the number of household outbreaks fell from 954 to 652 in the space of a week, people’s homes continue to be the scene of high levels of virus transmission.
The figures are expected to mean that the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) will moderate the expected relaxation of restrictions around gatherings involving different families during Christmas with strong warnings about the risks involved, particularly for individuals. vulnerable.
There were six more Covid-19-related deaths yesterday, making November another significant month of deaths.
The number of daily cases of the virus rose slightly yesterday to 269, from 226 on Tuesday, indicating that the movement to reduce the virus could be stalled again and will not reach the 50-100 mark, which was seen as a factor. of flexibility in the recommendations around December and Christmas.
The lower the number when the lockdown is lifted next week, the less chance of a serious escalation in the spread, leading to tighter restrictions in January.
Yesterday’s cases included 88 in Dublin, 42 in Cork, 25 in Limerick, 20 in Louth and 16 in Donegal. The remaining 78 were distributed in another 17 counties.
There was a drop in hospitalizations for people with the virus to 260 from 289 earlier this week and the number of seriously ill patients in intensive care rose slightly to 36.
Donegal, Louth, Limerick, and Waterford continue to have the highest incidence of the disease over fourteen days.
The counties with the lowest incidence of fourteen days are Wexford, Kerry and Laois.
Outbreak figures from last week also show that the number in schools nearly doubled, from ten to nineteen.
Workplaces and hospitals also saw a series of outbreaks of the virus.
Meanwhile Moderna, which is one of the companies developing a Covid-19 vaccine, announced that it has reached an agreement with the European Commission to provide 80 million doses to member states if approved.
Ireland would be tempted to receive 1pc of these doses over the next year.
The European Commission also has the option to purchase an additional 80 million doses.
Stephane Bancel, CEO of Moderna said: “We appreciate the confidence the European Commission has shown in our mRNA vaccine platform by including mRNA-1273 in its vaccine portfolio.
“We recognize that addressing this global pandemic will require a number of solutions, and we are proud of the role Moderna has been able to play in this global effort.
“We have expanded our manufacturing capacity outside of the United States with our strategic partners, Lonza and Rovi, to be able to deliver approximately 500 million doses per year and possibly up to 1 billion doses per year beginning in 2021, if approved.”
There is growing optimism that the European Medicines Agency will approve the Pfizer vaccine before the end of the year.
This would pave the way to implement it in priority groups.
Irish independent
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