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The Taoiseach has said that it is “imperative” that counties with large numbers of new Covid-19 cases reduce the spread of the virus as soon as possible.
Micheál Martin said he was particularly concerned about the 18-35 year old cohort, especially with the return of tertiary universities.
He spoke as the latest 14-day Covid-19 incidence rates released in Dublin show an increase again after a one-day decline after two weeks of spikes in infections.
The incidence rate in Dublin stood at 140.3 cases per 100,000 people on Tuesday, up from 136.9 a day earlier, following a drop of 138 cases per 100,000 on Sunday.
Increases in incidence rates were again recorded in the worst affected areas of Dublin after the daily record of brief declines, according to the latest 14-day report from the Center for Health Protection Surveillance. The rate in northwest Dublin rose again above 200 cases per 100,000 people on Tuesday, reaching 200.3 cases, while southwest Dublin reached 152.3 cases, down from 146.7 cases. . Cases in south-east Dublin stood at 150.4 cases per 100,000, compared to 143.9. The national average was 73.9 cases per 100,000, compared to 70.7.
Donegal has the next highest number of cases for a county at 122.5 cases per 100,000, up from 106.2 the day before and an increase of more than double the 45.9 cases per 100,000 reported a week earlier.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio’s News at One, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said: Dublin, as of last night “was at 140 per 100,000 for the last 14 days, in the last seven days that figure dropped to 73, essentially what that. means is Dublin seems to be starting to stabilize, that’s what we want to see in the rest of the country as well. “
But Professor Philip Nolan, chair of NPHET’s Irish Epidemiological Modeling Advisory Group, said Wednesday night that it was “too early” to say that the spread of the disease had leveled off with the 14-day cumulative infection rate that it hadn’t risen that fast in recent times. days like it had last week.
He said at the NPHET briefing that it would be several days “or maybe another week” before it could be seen if the restrictions announced for Dublin last week were having any effect.
NPHET met on Thursday to examine the trends of the virus and also the impact of the additional restrictions imposed on Dublin last week.
Last night, the state’s acting medical director, Dr. Ronan Glynn, declined to speculate whether public health officials would recommend moving other counties where infections were high up to the Level 3 public restrictions currently imposed in Dublin.
However, he made specific warnings about rising infection rates in Donegal, Louth, and Waterford, along with parts of North Wicklow and East Kildare that border Dublin.
When asked by reporters at an event at Dublin’s Oliver Bond apartment complex on Thursday morning if he expected NPHET to recommend that other counties move to Level 3 restrictions, Martin said he would not pre-judge the advice that would be provided. to the Cabinet.
“The next 10 days will be critical. We are aware of counties like Donegal and Louth and others where the numbers are going in the wrong direction.
“I have been talking to the medical director and we are also concerned with large urban areas and cities in particular, Waterford, Cork, Limerick and Galway.
“The situation for those cities is critical for the next 10 days and the behavior has to change frankly.”
He also expressed concern about the concentration of new cases in the 18 to 35 age group, especially with the reopening of tertiary universities.
“It is imperative that action is taken collectively and individually, and in those particular locations to reduce and stabilize the numbers.”
Young people
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar also warned young people that they should be aware of the long-term health impact of Covid-19 and not think that they are immune to the significant health consequences of the virus.
Young people “can end up with a weak heart or lungs for the rest of their lives, so please don’t try to understand this,” she told RTÉ radio’s Today with Claire Byrne program.
Varadkar said that while there was still much to learn about Covid-19, what was clear was that it was not like the flu.
The coronavirus was much more infectious and dangerous, he said.
Referring to the 600 million euros allocated for the Winter Plan, a sum designed to help the health service cope with the additional pressures created by the pandemic, Varadkar said that only one percent of hospital beds are being used. currently for Covid-19 patients and that was before the 1,000 additional beds that would come into operation as part of the plan.
Even if the level of Covid cases worsened three times, he said, the health system would still not have problems, but he warned that things could get worse “much worse than three times worse.”
Answering questions about Ireland’s testing and tracing system, Mr Varadkar said that the Irish health system has conducted more tests per capita than Germany, Sweden and the UK.
Regarding tracing, and the fact that the Irish system only traces contacts within 48 hours, Mr Varadkar said it would never be possible to identify where each outbreak occurred.
Another area of concern is the rise in coronavirus infections among older people, as four times as many people over the age of 65 have contracted the disease than five weeks ago, state health officials said.
Professor Nolan issued stern warnings Wednesday night about the impact of rising infection rates in recent weeks.
“If we are starting to suppress the virus again, it is essential that we continue this effort: limit our social contacts, limit the mixing between households. The next 10 days are critical, ”he told reporters at the NPHET press conference.
He said it was “concerning” to report one or two daily admissions of people with Covid-19 to intensive care units and seven new hospital admissions on average over the past week. Most of the people admitted to the ICU were under 65 and “some are young,” he said.
“We started mixing more than was safe and in an unsafe way several weeks ago and the transmissions that happened then are catching up with us now,” said Professor Nolan.
234 new cases were reported on Wednesday, 103 of them in Dublin (44 percent), 30 in Donegal, 22 in Galway, 21 in Cork, 13 in Wicklow, 12 in Louth, nine Kildare and eight in Meath.
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