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Health officials are to hold talks with Limerick politicians on Friday following a recent surge in Covid-19 cases in the county which the HSE chief executive said has created a volatile situation.
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly and chief medical officer Tony Holohan will brief Limerick-based TDs and Senators later on the situation in the county, which has seen some 800 cases in the last fortnight.
More than 100 cases were reported in Limerick on Wednesday, the highest number since cases surged nationally at the start of the year, with the infections being largely linked by a local HSE official to “high risk” indoor activities such as parties and family events.
Mr Donnelly on Friday said the surge in Limerick is “eminently solvable” and he had spoken to Dr Holohan and had been assured the spread of the Indian variant or Delta variant was not a factor.
“This is the B117 variant or whichever Alpha, Beta we’re giving that one,” he told the Seanad. “I’ve no doubt the people of Limerick city and county are already stepping up to deal with this and there is fantastic work going on, on the ground.”
Reminder
Mr Donnelly said the high case numbers were a reminder of “why you do need public health measures”.
“We have a very serious outbreak of over 100 cases reported on Wednesday and we’re looking very closely (at it) today. Its right across society at post third-level gatherings and parties , it’s in work places, it’s on commutes, it’s in household gatherings, it’s right across the board.”
Limerick Fianna Fáil TD and Minister of State Niall Collins, who organised the briefing, said he hoped the health officials would “outline the scenario, the reasons why they are so high, and tell us what we can and can’t do to respond to it”.
Dr Holohan yesterday expressed concern over the “significant increase” in cases, “the majority of which occurred as a result of indoor gatherings”.
In a series of tweets, Dr Holohan said incidence of the virus in Limerick had increased sharply to 411 cases per 100,000 people, the highest in the country.
“It is extremely important that everyone in the Limerick region continues to adhere to the public health advice,” he said.
‘Dropped our guard’
HSE chief executive Paul Reid said the situation remained very volatile and that “the virus has caught us every time we dropped our guard”.
He told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland that the “multiplier effect” can quickly lead to a rise in cases.
Deputy chief medical officer Dr Ronan Glynn on Friday said the situation was not good in Limerick but it could be overcome. Previously, he told Spin FM, when such difficulties had arisen the response of the medical profession, local businesses and politicians and the community had been excellent and he was optimistic that would be the case again.
Separately, Mr Reid said a meeting will be held with Mr Donnelly and his officials on Friday to discuss the National Immunisation Advisory Committee’s recommendation that the length of time between the first and second doses of AstraZeneca be reduced from 12 weeks to eight weeks. He said the key factor in such a decision would remain supplies of the vaccine.
Vaccinated sooner
Such a move would mean that more than 400,000 people who have received a first dose of AstraZeneca vaccine could be fully vaccinated sooner than expected.
Almost 500,000 people still have to get a second dose of the vaccine between now and mid-August under current plans. More than 32,000 people were expected to receive a second AstraZeneca dose this week, rising to a peak of 124,000 in the third week of July before tapering off the following month.
Total vaccinations are likely to pass the three million mark on Friday; at least 53 per cent of adults have received a first dose and 25 per cent are fully vaccinated against the virus.