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Medical Director Dr. Tony Holohan has said he is more concerned about how Covid-19 is spreading in the state now than when the recommendation to move to level 5 was made to the government.
Speaking in his first media appearance since returning from an extended period of leave, and since the recommendation, he said: “In any case. . . the level of concern you had [on Sunday] it’s less than the level of concern I have now. “
“All the main indicators of this disease have worsened; our concern is growing and faster,” he said.
Separately on Wednesday evening, Taoiseach Micheál Martin told parliamentary party Fianna Fáil that UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson sent him a text message on Sunday night expressing concern that the Republic entering a Level 5 lockdown and creating a huge disparity with the guidelines. in the north.
Trade with Johnson
In the SMS exchange with Johnson, the Taoiseach later relayed its concerns about the deterioration of the Covid-19 situation in the North.
Mr. Martin emphasized that the Government had not decided to move to Level 5, but that it was a recommendation from Nphet and would be subject to a decision by the Government.
The Health Department confirmed another five deaths of people with the virus last night, bringing the total in the state to 1,816. And another 611 cases were confirmed, bringing the total infections since March to 39,584.
The number of cases is now growing exponentially, as are hospitalizations, said Professor Philip Nolan, head of the Irish epidemiological modeling group.
“If nothing changes, we would expect intensive care admissions and, sadly, deaths to follow the same path.
“We simply cannot protect people in that age group, nor can they protect themselves, if the level of disease in the wider community continues to rise.”
Garda checkpoints
Meanwhile, a network of 132 static Garda checkpoints on highways and major arterial routes around the Republic caused severe congestion Wednesday morning and evening.
Garda sources said checkpoints would switch from one side of the roads to the other between mornings and afternoons, which would mean delays twice a day for travelers. They added that there would be long delays as traffic was channeled into a single lane at checkpoints.
One source said there had been a “spike” in people returning to their workplaces in recent months, although many were able to work from home.
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