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Medical director Dr. Tony Holohan warned of the “significant increase” in the number of hospital admissions due to Covid-19 in recent weeks.
Dr. Holohan said the number of people admitted to the hospital with the virus rose from less than 190 two weeks ago to 324 on Sunday.
“This indicates a deterioration of the disease trajectory nationwide and is a significant reminder of the severity of this disease,” he said.
“There have been further increases in key Covid-19 indicators across the country and the growth rate of the epidemic has accelerated in recent days.”
Four other Covid-19-related deaths were recorded in Ireland on Sunday and an additional 744 cases.
It brings the total number of Covid-19-related deaths in the country to 2,204.
Dr Holohan added: “Due to the lower volume of testing that took place on Christmas Day and yesterday, we believe there are higher levels of disease circulating in the community than reflected by the case numbers reported today.
“Therefore, we expect to see a large increase in reported cases in the coming days.
“If we do not act now to stop the spread of Covid-19, we will not be able to protect those in our society who are most at risk of serious illness or death.
“Stay home, don’t visit friends or family unless you are providing essential care and have no visitors in your home. Follow public health advice. “
On Sunday morning, 324 Covid-19 patients were in the hospital, of which 26 were in the ICU.
Meanwhile, the Tánaiste said that Ireland is rolling out the Covid-19 vaccine at a slower rate than other countries, but said it will catch up.
The first coronavirus vaccine arrived in Ireland on St. Stephen’s Day, but people will have to wait several days before the initial batch of 10,000 doses is administered.
Leo Varadkar admitted that he was “not sure” why there is a delay, despite the fact that many other European countries started their vaccination program on Sunday.
“I’m not 100% sure, but I’ve been told that it takes a couple of days to get things organized,” Varadkar said.
“While it could have done some people in the early days, the authorities thought it best to start on Wednesday and start right.”
Varadkar said the vaccination program will start in earnest this week.
However, Health Service Chief Executive Paul Reid said there are plans to begin the vaccination process on Tuesday.
Mr. Reid said that a small number of people will receive the vaccines at various hospitals.
He added: “Priority and efficiency is absolutely key for us. The intention is to start early next week. My expectation is that we will receive some vaccinations on the 29th, which would be Tuesday.
“So our mobilization begins with the health workers. Our focus is to do this safely, effectively, and roll it out over a three-week period to do all of our nursing homes in one full sweep, and then the next three weeks to do it a second time.
“He is very strong and focused. We will start at four hospital locations and will do so some older residents.
“There is no one who wants to do this faster than me and the HSE.”
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is the first to be approved for use in Ireland by the European Medicines Agency.
Around 40,000 doses of the vaccine will arrive in Ireland every week from the end of January.
Mr. Varadkar said that people living in long-term care facilities, nursing homes and their staff will receive the vaccine first.
He told Newstalk: “I think we will have started a little slower, but we will catch up. We are part of the European system and we obtain 1.11% of the vaccine and that is proportional to our population.
“We will start a little slower than other countries but we will catch up, I do not see it as a race, I think it is important that we do well.
“We anticipate that the Moderna vaccine will be approved on January 6, so it will bring additionality.
“There seems to be a good chance that AstraZeneca will be approved at the end of January and that is particularly important because we have reserved a lot of them, more than we did for Pfizer and that does not require a deep cold chain, that is a vaccine. more normal “.
Mr. Varadkar said that the Covid-19 virus is “circumventing” the government’s plans.
He admitted that Ireland’s six-week shutdown did not work out to the extent they hoped.
“We made the decision on December 1 and we all thought we would make it until January,” he added.
“The six-week lockdown did not work to the extent that we expected.
“What is certain is that nobody anticipated that the numbers would increase so quickly.”
Varadkar also said that he couldn’t see mass gatherings until the summer.
“I don’t think we are going to get rid of the restrictions permanently in February or March. Restrictions like mass gatherings, I don’t see them happening until the summer at the earliest. “
Earlier Sunday, Reid warned of the “alarming” number of people being tested for Covid-19.
He tweeted: “Testing and tracking volumes now at alarming levels.
Test and follow-up volumes now at alarming levels. Our highest daily tests now at 23,000. Community positivity reaches 10%. Close contacts with an average of 5 people. Call tracking went from less than 10K to more than 3OK per week. Review your New Year’s plans to stay safe. @HSELive
– Paul Reid (@paulreiddublin) December 27, 2020
“Our highest daily tests are now 23,000.
“The positivity of the community reaches 10 percent. Close contacts with an average of five people.
“Call tracking went from less than 10,000 to more than 30,000 a week.
“Please review New Year’s plans to stay safe.”
The state entered its third lockdown on Christmas Eve when a series of restrictions were introduced.
Bars, restaurants, hair salons and hair salons have closed in a bid to quell the spread of the coronavirus.
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