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Cabinet members have voiced their annoyance with their own public health officials over the “stagnation” in progress in reducing Covid-19 cases.
A new chasm is emerging between political leaders and doctors on the way out of lockdown in two weeks, with ministers expressing annoyance at the lack of progress.
Ministers have said that the basis for introducing the level 5 lockdown for six weeks was to get daily cases of the virus below 100, and that is being undermined by the stubborn refusal of the numbers to go down.
The Health Department was notified last night of 429 confirmed cases of the coronavirus.
“Nphet told us that if we close for six weeks, the numbers will drop to 100 per day. They are nowhere near that, so we are left wondering what we are doing. Next week will be crucial, ”said a minister.
Several cabinet sources told the Irish Examiner that the desire to allow all sectors of society to reopen in December remains, including wet bars.
They expressed concern about the “multiplicity” of medical voices in the public domain, saying that it is the Government and not Nphet who will decide what happens.
For his part, after their weekly meeting, Nphet decided that he is not ready to recommend easing restrictions on international travel to Ireland, despite the fact that it has turned orange on the EU traffic light system.
However, Nphet’s advice to the public will not change this week due to the rate of new cases in the country.
CMO Tony Holohan said that “nothing has changed in the behavior of the disease,” which raised some concern among TDs about the short time left until Christmas.
“It is reaching a stage where people want to know yes or no at Christmas. At this stage, it would be nice to have guidance one way or another,” said a minister.
Several ministers are also frustrated by Nphet’s hardline approach when the second wave of Covid-19 is 90% less deadly than the first.
Health Minister Stephen Donnelly revealed the figure during a debate on the final report of the Special Committee on Covid-19.
“We’re seeing a more than 90% reduction in deaths in the second wave compared to the first wave. So for every 100 people who died in the first wave, fewer than 10 have died this time. By any measure, that’s it’s an extraordinary improvement. ”
Has been [url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-40085588.html]four more deaths related to Covid-19[url], according to the Health Protection Surveillance Center (HPSC). The death toll in the Republic is now 2,010.
The total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in Ireland is now 69,473. This figure reflects the denotification of 14 cases.
Dr. Holohan cautioned that the country has only two weeks to get back on track and reduce the numbers.
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