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The deadly Covid-19 virus is spiraling out of control and spreading so fast that up to 2,500 people a day may be affected by the infection by the end of this month.
The escalation of the crisis was pointed out by medical director Dr. Tony Holohan, who said he was “very concerned” about the increase, as three more patients died from the virus and 1,205 people contracted the disease, the lowest level. high in a single day since the pandemic began. .
There is growing alarm over the growing number of virus patients entering hospitals, several of whom are already canceling procedures and turning to surge capacity to cope.
Hospitals are treating 241 patients for the virus, an increase of 24 in the space of one day, and 29 are seriously ill in intensive care.
Many people behave with abandon and most try to follow the rules, but they meet many people outside their home and give the virus multiple opportunities to spread.
Now it is worse than when Dr. Holohan and the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) called for the country to move to Level 5, the most severe form of lockdown.
The virus is spreading across the country and the situation has worsened in the past week.
He warned: “It is clear that the disease is not under control.”
It comes as Donegal, Cavan and Monaghan entered Level 4 restrictions last night and the rest of the country remained at Level 3, but with the added instruction not to allow non-essential visits to their homes.
Dr. Holohan would not rely on Nphet’s advice to the government after yesterday’s meeting to review the troubling outlook.
The government previously rejected a call to move the country to Level 5 and was putting hope on Level 3 to change course.
“Things have accelerated even beyond what we projected a week or two ago. It is a matter of serious concern to us.”
He highlighted more socializing, a ‘slip’ back to the workplace, play dates and parties to contribute to the spread.
“The incidence of 14 days in people 65 years of age and older has increased from 92.9 per 100,000 inhabitants on October 7 to 125 per 100,000 inhabitants on October 14.
Professor Philip Nolan of the University of Maynooth, who tracks the virus, said: “The breeding number appears to have increased and is now 1.4 nationally.
“The modeling shows that if current trends continue, by October 31 the number of cases reported daily would be in the range of 1,800 to 2,500 cases with more than 400 people in the hospital.”
Looking back at two to four weeks, the virus has quadrupled.
The number of people in intensive care will increase in the coming weeks and there are now an average of three deaths per day.
The test positivity rate is now 6.2%, three times higher than that reported three weeks ago.
4,500 cases of the virus were detected last week and now it has been exceeded again.
No county has an acceptable level of the virus, he warned.
Cases reported in the last week have increased by 82% compared to the previous seven days, from 3,514 to 6,382.
Of the new cases yesterday, 288 were in Dublin, 173 in Cork, 123 in Meath, 97 in Galway and 63 in Cavan. The remaining 461 cases are distributed in other counties.
Cavan has the highest 14-day incidence rate in the country at 639.3 per 100,000, followed by Donegal at 367.5 per 100,000 and Meath at 355.8 per 100,000.
Other high-rate counties include Monaghan, Clare, Sligo, Cork, Westmeath, Limerick, and Galway.
The main hotspot for the virus in the country is Ballyjamesduff in Co Cavan, where the incidence is 651.1 per 100,000, followed by Lifford Stranorlar in Donegal with an incidence of 610.3 per 100,000.
Dr. Holohan said that the level of community transmission, where the source of infection cannot be found, means that the virus cannot be identified in a large number of cases.
Professor Nolan said the message to the public is: “We can get through this faster than we think if people follow health guidelines and the number of infected people starts to decline.”
Earlier, HSE chief Paul Reid said that one in four of those admitted to the hospital since late September was under 35 years old.
About 27 percent were between the ages of 35 and 64, and 47 percent were over 65.
The briefing heard that the HSE has serious concerns about a nursing home at the center of an outbreak and is providing support.
There are another 25 nursing homes in the ‘amber’ category that are receiving increased support, up from 16 a month ago.
Irish independent
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