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Widespread cancellation of hospital services is expected in the coming days, as health authorities fight an “unsustainable” rise in Covid-19 infections.
With a daily record of 4,962 confirmed cases on Sunday, pushing overall infection figures past the 100,000 mark, officials are mulling over reducing daytime cases and other elective procedures, as happened during the first wave of the pandemic. Schools may also remain closed next week due to the rapidly deteriorating situation, political sources said.
About 10 percent of all confirmed cases in the 10-month pandemic have been reported in the past three days. GP referrals suggest there are likely to be more massive numbers in the coming days.
The Health Services Executive (HSE) is considering a variety of options to ensure that hospitals can operate safely amid increased transmission, its chief executive Paul Reid told The Irish Times.
Describing the increase in hospitalizations and intensive care (ICU) patients, which have doubled in a week, as “beyond any projection,” he said he was “extremely concerned” about the potential impact of the pandemic on the service of Health.
Even if people fully adhere to the current lockdown, there could be 1,300 Covid-19 patients in the hospital and 300 in the ICU by the end of the month, warned HSE clinical director Dr. Colm Henry. But Reid stressed that the health service “is not overwhelmed” and that the augmentation capacity is not yet being used.
There were 643 free hospital beds, including 43 in the ICU on Sunday morning, which Mr. Reid described as “nothing bad.”
Another 44 ICU beds are available in the private healthcare sector, but talks between the HSE and private hospitals about providing additional capacity have not yet concluded, despite months of negotiation. Reid said talks “moved forward” last week and the HSE was finalizing an agreement with individual private hospitals on the provision of services.
‘Untenable’
Medical Director Dr. Tony Holohan described Sunday’s number of cases as “not only unsustainable for the healthcare system, but also a deeply concerning level of preventable disease and suffering that we must work together to address as quickly as possible.” .
The first vaccinations for nursing home residents will be administered on Monday. Reid said that about 4,000 healthcare staff have received the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine so far, including 2,000 in hospitals in the south and southwest over the weekend.
About 20,000 more doses will be administered this week: 17,000 to staff and residents of 25 nursing homes and 3,000 to staff at 17 hospitals.
Another shipment of 41,000 doses of vaccine is scheduled to arrive on Monday or Tuesday. Of these, 25,000 doses will be administered immediately and the remainder will be reserved for use as second doses, to be administered three weeks after the first.
The National Advisory Committee on Immunizations is reviewing a proposal to maximize the administration of the first dose and delay the second dose. This has been done in the UK, but experts are divided on the approach.
Regulatory officials are also examining a proposal to allow vaccinators to draw six doses from a vial of the vaccine, instead of the recommended five. This would increase capacity by up to 20 percent.
Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr. Ronan Glynn last night urged workers to stay home and employers to facilitate this. People should think “like it’s March again,” he advised.
The cabinet subcommittee on Covid-19 is likely to meet in the next few days and sources say ministers and senior officials will also discuss additional restrictions. Government figures are recovering from the rapidly deteriorating situation, and one source said that if public health officials recommended that schools stay closed longer, the government would follow that advice.
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