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The country’s medical director has said that while key Covid-19 indicators were improving, it was still “not possible to draw substantial conclusions about the trajectory of the disease at this time.”
Dr. Tony Holohan warned the Government in a letter sent last week that the number of cases in the elderly and nursing homes despite the current Level 5 lockdown remains a concern, according to the Irish Times.
There were seven more deaths and 482 additional confirmed cases of the virus in the state yesterday as Dr. Holohan issued a reminder of the “unpredictable nature of this highly infectious disease.”
The figure represents an increase of about 100 additional cases compared to the number confirmed the day before.
“The hard work that all of us have done over the past three weeks is commendable, but we must not allow our success to date to lower our guard against the spread of this disease,” said Dr. Holohan.
Over 65 years
In his letter to the Government, the chief physician said that a higher proportion of cases reported in the previous fortnight corresponded to the group over 65 years of age.
“In the last seven days, 11.9 percent of the reported cases were over 65 years old. This compares with 7.6 percent of the cases reported in the seven days to October 15, ”he wrote.
He said that in the week leading up to October 31, there were 56 open groups associated with nursing homes and 33 associated with hospitals.
“Despite the continued overall decline in the number of cases and incidence rates in the general population, outbreaks in nursing homes and the burden of infection among older age groups remain a concern,” he said.
The rate of decline in incidence is slower in Dublin than in the rest of the country.
Ireland
Seven deaths and 482 new cases of Covid-19
While Dr. Holohan said the disease’s growth rate was “currently negative,” he noted that Dublin’s rate was still different from the rest of the country.
“The country’s current growth rate is minus 3.5 percent, compared to plus 4.9 percent on October 29,” he wrote.
“The growth rate is slightly higher in Dublin at minus 2.7%, which means that the rate of decline in incidence is slower in Dublin than in the rest of the country.”
“Over the past week, the trajectory of the disease in Dublin has diverged from the national scene; 31 per cent of all cases reported in the last seven days occurred in Dublin. This compared to 26 percent last week. “
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