[ad_1]
Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has said that “over the next few days and weeks the numbers are going to get worse” for Covid-19.
Over the weekend, public health officials issued severe warnings about the spread of Covid-19 after three other people died and a record number of new cases were recorded.
The National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) said Saturday that another 1,012 new cases of the disease were reported. It is the highest number of cases in a single day since the height of the pandemic on April 15, when 1,068 were recorded. It is only the third time that the number of daily cases exceeds 1,000.
“New cases are doubling every 16 days,” Donnelly said on RTÉ radio’s This Week in Politics program on Sunday. At the height of the pandemic, the rate doubled every five to six days.
Donnelly said it was important “not to look at a particular day, but at trends.”
The reproduction number or R0 for the country is 1.2. Dublin has a virus reproduction rate of 1. He said that “an additional boost for Dublin could produce positive results for Dublin.”
And he added: “The R0 for the rest of the country is 1.6, which is very high and that is why we are at Level 3 for the country.”
“Initial indications in Dublin are positive and now we have the opportunity to work together to say that we are going to accept this.”
Airports
Donnelly said the state also plans to introduce coronavirus testing at airports as part of a possible alternative to quarantine for some arriving passengers, though it’s unclear when capacity will be ready.
Airlines Ryanair and Aer Lingus have harshly criticized the government for imposing some of the strictest travel restrictions in Europe, with 14-day quarantines recommended for almost all incoming travelers.
When asked about the Tánaiste’s suggestion of a “circuit breaker” lockout, which is a brief national lockout, Donnelly said “it is not being considered now.”
He said: “This week’s numbers are not a reflection of whether we should be on the so-called circuit breaker.”
Donnelly said that some time ago Singapore tested the level 5 circuit breaker for about three months and it seemed to have worked. Israel is the only country that is now at Level 4 and the signs are positive.
“The fact that levels 4 and 5 are in frame is implicit that at some point we might have to go there,” but he said they weren’t considering it now, “he said.
Medical Director Dr. Tony Holohan said Saturday night: “I am very concerned about the numbers we are seeing and how quickly they are deteriorating.
“All the important indicators of the disease are deteriorating. For example, there has been a steady increase in test positivity over the past week. The positivity rate of the test as of midnight on Friday, October 9, was 6.2 percent, which has more than doubled in less than fifteen days.
“The number of cases is increasing in all age groups and across the country.”
On Sunday, Taoiseach Micheál Martin issued a statement calling on the public to change their behaviors to help stop the rapid rise of the coronavirus.
“If we all change our behaviors and work together, we can make Level 3 work, protect lives and livelihoods, show that we can contain the virus and prevent its growth,” he said.
Martin said that the move to Level 3 implied a tightening of restrictions on people and society, which particularly affected the hospitality sector.
“Covid-19 is a challenge for the countries of Europe and the world,” he said.
“The next few weeks will be challenging, but working with Nphet, we will respond firmly and appropriately. We have the capacity and resources to overcome this and we will.
“An unprecedented level of resources has been allocated to health services, both in the Winter Plan and throughout the entire 2021.”
Mr. Martin said that these resources would allow the health service to deal with Covid-19 and ensure a better health service for the future.
‘Circuit breaker’
Earlier, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said that a “circuit breaker” … “might well be necessary at some point,” he wrote in the Sunday Independent.
“I know some say that a circuit break could save Christmas. I am not that sure. The problem is that when you are completely blocked it is difficult to get out of there, ”he wrote.
On Monday, the government rejected the Nphet’s advice to move the country into a national blockade for four weeks. Rather than choosing to put the country on Level 3 of its Living with Covid-19 plan, which involves restrictions on restaurants, pubs, and movement between counties.
Senior medical leaders believe that while the hospital system faces challenges, it is not overwhelmed at this stage, said the chief of the Health Services Executive (HSE).
Paul Reid said the HSE clinical director, as well as top consultants across the country in critical care and emergency medicine, had informed him as of Sunday morning that hospitals were “coping.”
He said his advice was that the situation was “continuously monitored.”
Mr Reid told RTÉ on Sunday that the advice to him was that “the system has not been overwhelmed at this time.”
He said that the situation could change very quickly and should be carefully monitored.
“Ultimately, I will take my lead from our senior consultants and how they are describing it right now.”
Mr. Reid said that HSE senior management would be analyzing the situation in the hospitals, site by site, on Monday morning.
The HSE chief said that the health service wanted to see 1,400 additional beds, which had already been introduced temporarily at the beginning of this year or which, under the new winter plan, promised to “remain for the next year”. He said this was being discussed as part of current financial estimates before next week’s budget.
Reid said that the HSE in the first phase of the Covid-19 pandemic had installed around 800 additional beds: 400 in level four hospitals and 400 in level two hospitals.
He said that under the winter plan 590 more beds would be provided.
Mr. Reid said that funds were available to hire additional staff for the health service, but that this process could take time to complete. He said HSE’s € 600 million winter plan contained a significant investment for additional resources.
He said there were net increases of more than 150 consultants and 5,000 employees overall this year.
Mr. Reid said that the health service wanted to hire more consultants, other doctors and nurses, but it would take time.
He said the HSE was looking for ways to speed up the recruitment of health personnel.
Meanwhile, Fianna Fáil’s State Minister for Higher Education Niall Collins said the government would consider moving other counties where the virus continues to spread rapidly, such as Donegal, to stricter levels under the plan.
“The numbers are going in the wrong direction, they are stabilizing in Dublin with that said, so let’s see how it goes in the next few days,” he said on RTÉ’S This Week.
“If we have to go to different levels for different counties, of course, that is a consideration that can be taken, or if we have to move the whole country up one or two levels, that will be a decision, which will be made in con the best advice “.
Louise O’Reilly, a spokeswoman for Sinn Féin, criticized Varadkar’s “kite flying” over blocking a circuit breaker as “very useless.”
Richard Boyd Barrett, People Before Profit TD, said the government was “in denial” about its Covid-19 plan, which was not working.
[ad_2]