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Rising Covid-19 infections and a sharp increase in the number of people sent for coronavirus testing has left progress against the disease in a “fragile” state, said Taoiseach Micheál Martin.
Mr Martin expressed concern at the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party meeting on Wednesday night about a 42 percent weekly increase in the numbers submitted for testing on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar told Fine Gael’s parliamentary party’s weekly meeting that the increase in the number of cases was a “definite cause for concern.”
The National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) reported 683 new Covid-19 infections in the state on Wednesday, marking the ninth day that the seven-day average of new cases has risen since March 10.
Both leaders were pressured by party members, facing calls to end national closures in favor of local restrictions, as well as to loosen rules on religious services, the lifting of the 5km travel limit, and greater certainty about when restrictions like vaccinations could be eased. stabilized supplies.
The government will make a decision on the restrictions that will be in effect after April 5 next Tuesday. Nphet on Wednesday postponed a key meeting on restrictions to next Monday due to the changing situation regarding infections.
Outdoor activity
Mr. Martin informed his party that any relaxation of the restrictions would emphasize outdoor activity.
Varadkar told his party meeting that it is difficult to plan long-term to deal with Covid-19 due to the possibility of reinfections, the existence of variants of the virus and the uncertainty regarding immunity.
High-level government sources have described the state’s current situation as precarious, and one of them has said that cases could increase dramatically with the “flick of a switch.”
However, government figures expressed optimism late Wednesday that defusing a dispute over the supply of Covid-19 vaccines between the EU and the UK could help speed up the delivery of much-needed vaccines in the state.
The EU and the UK may agree to share vaccine doses after tensions between the two sides subsided following a joint declaration to work together to keep supplies flowing amid a global fight over doses.
“We are all facing the same pandemic and the third wave makes cooperation between the EU and the UK even more important,” they said in their statement issued Wednesday night.
“Given our interdependencies, we are working on specific steps that we can take, in the short, medium and long term, to create a win-win situation and expand the supply of vaccines for all of our citizens.”
The statement came after Brussels announced plans to tighten controls on vaccine exports to some countries, raising concerns in Britain that its vaccine deliveries could be affected as the UK relies on the EU as source of vaccines, particularly Pfizer injections.
Virtual summit
Vaccine production and supply will dominate a virtual summit of EU leaders that the Taoiseach will attend on Thursday and Friday.
In national efforts to suppress Covid-19, the HSE said it would open more “walk-in” testing centers at hotspots of infection to detect asymptomatic cases.
“The prevalence rate can change quite quickly. We’re definitely talking about where it would be appropriate to go next, ”said Niamh O’Beirne, HSE leader in testing and tracing.
Five new walk-in testing centers were due to open Thursday, four in Dublin and one in Tullamore, to encourage more people to get tested and target infections where people have no symptoms.
The centers will operate for a week, from 11 am to 7 pm every day. They are aimed at areas where there are high levels of infections and people who may not have or are unwilling to contact a GP.
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