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Taoiseach keeping 'close eye' on hospital figures as cases rise

Updated / Saturday, 17 Jul 2021 21:48

Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said the rising number of cases of Covid-19 is very serious, adding that he has been concerned about the Delta variant for some time.

"This is a further twist in the road of Covid-19 and there will be high volumes of case numbers, which will continue to grow", he said.

His comments come as the Department of Health has reported 1,377 additional cases of the virus.

The number of people in ICU has decreased by one to 22.

On this day last week, there were 16 patients in ICUs.

The department said daily case numbers may change due to future data review, validation and update.

The Taoiseach added that we "need to keep a close eye on hospitalisation, illness and mortality" resulting from the rising number of cases.

Mr Martin is due to meet Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan and other public health figure on Wednesday.

They will discuss the recent rise in cases, and look ahead to the situation expected in August and September.

However, he said we are in a very different scenario to what we had a year ago, now that over 60% of the eligible population is fully vaccinated.

He said officials will need to take a fresh look at where the prevalence is highest and the age cohorts affected, and consider the strategies needed to pull infection rates back.

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Health officials earlier urged people who are awaiting full vaccination to "take every precaution" this weekend after Ireland reported its highest daily total of Covid-19 cases in more than five months.

Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Ronan Glynn said that Ireland's incidence rate has risen to 180 per 100,000 cases and high case numbers are beginning to translate into increasing numbers in hospitals and intensive care units.

There were 78 patients with Covid-19 in hospital as of 8am, down one on the same time yesterday.It compares to a figure of 52 this day last week.

In a post on Twitter, Dr Glynn said that while people have "taken great hope from the fact that our vaccination programme is rolling out quickly", there are still over two-and-a-half million adults who are not fully protected or not adequately protected through vaccination.

He urged people who are not yet vaccinated to be careful about indoor settings and to not meet up with other people indoors if it can be avoided.

He also urged anyone with any symptoms of a cold or flu - such as a headache, runny nose, blocked sinuses, sore throat - to get a Covid-19 test.

The National Public Health Emergency Team said there has been a sharp increase in cases among 16 to 34 year-olds.

Dr Holohan said that cases of Covid-19 are increasing in 22 out of 26 counties.

The Department of Health was notified of nearly 1,200 new cases yesterday.

In Northern Ireland, 1,400 new cases of Covid-19 have been reported in the past 24 hours, along with two further coronavirus-related deaths.

Earlier, Health Service Executive CEO Paul Reid said that 63% of adults are fully vaccinated, with 76% having received one dose.

In a post on Twitter, he said hospitalisations and ICU admissions are "holding well".

Concern over indoor dining

A consultant paediatrician at Bon Secours Hospital in Cork said she is "really, really worried" that if indoor dining is not done correctly, it could affect the reopening of schools after the summer break.

Speaking on RTÉ's Brendan O'Connor programme, Dr Niamh Lynch said she is concerned that the resumption of indoor hospitality could lead to a spike in Covid-19 case numbers, if it is not carried out properly.

"And if we have a further spike in numbers ... one of the first responses is for people to turn around and say the schools aren't safe", she said.

"I would hope that at this point, six or seven weeks out from the schools reopening, that schools are absolutely crawling with people who are assessing their buildings, installing C02 monitors and making sure they have adequate ventilation. I'm not seeing much evidence of that, but that's what should be happening," she said.

Dr Lynch said she understands why the hospitality sector wants to reopen, but said Covid-19 "doesn't really care about the economy".

"It keeps evolving, it just wants to go from host to host", she said. "It's a package of protein, it doesn't really care if we are tired of it or not."

Cuba to be added to mandatory quarantine list

Meanwhile, Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly has announced that he intends to add Cuba to the list of states necessitating Mandatory Hotel Quarantine.

People arriving to Ireland having been in or transited through any countries on the list in the previous 14 days must enter MHQ.

In a statement, the Department of Health said Cuba will soon be included on the booking system for MHQ, with passengers from Cuba entering quarantine starting from 4am on Tuesday.

More information on MHQ can be found at www.gov.ie/quarantine.

Mr Donnelly has also removed 34 countries from the list, with immediate effect.

They are: Afghanistan, Angola, Bahrain, Burundi; Cape Verde, Costa Rica; Dominican Republic; Ecuador, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia; French Guiana, Guyana, Haiti.

Kenya, Kyrgyzstan; Lesotho; Malawi, Maldives, Mongolia; Nepal; Oman.

Panama, The Philippines; Qatar; Rwanda; Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan; Tanzania, Turkey; United Arab Emirates; Venezuela; Zambia.

Anyone travelling to Ireland should check the latest information relating to their country of origin on www.gov.ie/travel.

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Cathy Halloran RTÉ Mid West Correspondent

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Cathy Halloran

Mid West Correspondent