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Regional restrictions, rather than a short and strict national lockdown, may be the next step for the government to take if action is needed to stop the drastic increase in Covid-19 cases.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin yesterday urged the public to change their behaviors so that “we can make Level 3 work, protect lives and livelihoods” and stop the spread of Covid-19.
He said there was “some evidence” that Level 3 had a positive influence in Dublin and across the country may also “have an impact.”
High-level government figures emphasized that there were no immediate plans for a brief shutdown, known as a “circuit breaker,” despite deteriorating coronavirus metrics over the weekend.
Mr. Martin also questioned the feasibility of the measure. “The idea of limiting things for two weeks and being able to come back normally, I’m not sure I’m a runner,” he said.
It is anticipated that if tighter Covid-19 restrictions are introduced, they may first be limited to counties with higher rates of the disease, such as Donegal. “There is every possibility that the next step will be regional,” said a government source.
Public health officials should closely monitor the impact of the national move to Level 3 of the government’s Covid-19 phasing plan, and the first indicators of whether the measures are stabilizing the situation will be seen by the end of the week. The entire state joined Dublin and Donegal in Level 3 restrictions for three weeks since last Tuesday.
There is some encouragement that the rate of new cases in the capital is slowing after three weeks of Level 3 restrictions, another government source said.
Coronavirus-related deaths
Speculation about possible additional measures comes after the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) confirmed 814 new cases and two coronavirus-related deaths on Sunday.
Of the additional cases, 226 were located in Dublin, 77 in Cork, 64 in Galway, 56 in Donegal, and 48 in Meath, with the remainder spread across the country.
This follows 1,012 new cases reported on Saturday, the highest daily total since the height of the pandemic in mid-April.
The state’s chief medical officer, Dr. Tony Holohan, said figures from the past few days point to “rapidly increasing growth rates across the country.”
He reiterated that it was vital that people limit their social contacts to an “absolute minimum” and follow the other public health guidelines. On Saturday he said he was very concerned about the numbers and how quickly they are deteriorating.
Senior Health Service executive officials will meet Monday to discuss the pressure on the hospital system and intensive care units across the country.
There were 39 vacant hospital intensive care beds over the weekend and 30 ICU patients with Covid-19, a key metric observed by Nphet. There were also 204 Covid-19 positive patients at the hospital, a number that has been steadily increasing in recent weeks.
Mid-term break
The government also downplayed another possible measure on Sunday, as Health Minister Stephen Donnelly confirmed yesterday that the mid-term recess “is not going to be extended.”
“We have emerging and growing evidence of the cost of education” for children of school closings, he said.
“We need to keep children in schools” and “keeping children in school is a priority for the government,” Donnelly said during an interview on RTÉ Radio.
The minister reacted to reports on Friday that the midterm recess in schools could be extended into October.
Meanwhile, in Northern Ireland, the Executive will meet on Monday and consider the need for further restrictions after nearly 2,000 new cases of coronavirus were identified over the weekend.
The Northern Health Department reported another 1,066 cases on Sunday and 902 on Saturday.
Elsewhere, medical scientists, including those involved in testing for Covid-19, have warned that there is growing mood for industrial action on payment issues.
The president of the Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists (MLSA), Kevin O’Boyle, said there was “palpable anger and discomfort in laboratories across the country and the likelihood of industrial action is increasing.”
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