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Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has said there are no plans to reimpose restrictions at present as Covid-19 cases are not translating into hospitalisations in the same way they were before.
“We do have high case levels, but the vaccine wall is holding. The number of people in hospital is high and the number of people in ICU is high but it’s more or less where we would have expected it to be at this stage given the projections so it’s a case of hold firm and stick with the plan.”
Mr Varadkar’s comments come as the Department of Health reported a further 3,174 new casesof Covid-19 on Wednesday. It also announced a further 56 deaths from the disease have been newly notified since last Wednesday.
As of 8am on Wednesday there were 460 Covid-19 patients in hospital, down 33 since the same time on Tuesday. Some 86 of these are in intensive care, down four since Tuesday.
Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan said incidence of the virus was increasing rapidly “in those aged 19-24 years”, which was likely associated with “mid-term socialising and great levels of social activity across communities”.
Speaking at a briefing of the National Public Health Emergency Team on Wednesday, Dr Holohan sppealing to people to be “mindful of your contacts” in the days after socialising and to “especially consider anyone you may meet who may be immunocompromised or vulnerble to Covid-19”.
Meanwhile Mr Varadkar said it was too simplistic to link the recent surge to the reopening of nightclubs.
He said there was a significant rise in case numbers amongst primary school children and young people aged between 18 and 24.
“So thankfully, that is not turning into a big increase the number of people in hospital actually that’s pretty stable at the moment. And thankfully the number in ICU is pretty stable at the moment.”
He said there are “no plans for adding new restrictions at the moment.”
He said that 3000 cases a day or 4000 cases a day “doesn’t mean what it meant last year or last winter, because the vaccine wall is holding, and we’ll never make a decision just based on case numbers.
“We’ll always have regard to other factors, including the number of people in hospital, the number of people needing ICU care that is stable at the moment. So it’s a case of sticking with the plan and staying the course.”
Optimism
Earlier, the chief clinical officer of the Health Service Executive (HSE), Dr Colm Henry, praised healthcare workers, saying their actions have led to low levels of hospital-acquired Covid infections.
The low level (when compared with that at the height of the pandemic) was not solely due to high vaccination figures, but was because of the actions of hospital staff, he told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland. This was cause for optimism, he added.
Dr Henry acknowledged that there had been a surge in cases overall and that the 14-day incidence rate had risen from “the mid-400s” to almost 700 per 100,000 people, while the number of daily cases had risen from 1,200-1,600 up to 2,000-3,000. Clearly this was causing “some strain” on the health service, especially as there were also cases of influenza being recorded, he said.
Although the rise in cases was forecast, the rate at which the situation is worsening has prompted fears of a later than projected peak in figures.
Dr Henry said it is important to use any measure to strengthen the firewall provided by vaccination, which can prevent serious illness but can not prevent the spread of infection.
Most people were following advice about social mixing, he said, but there was a need to focus on basic measures – wearing masks, hand washing and social distancing.
When asked about the level of cancellations of scheduled procedures because of pressure on intensive care (ICU) services, Dr Henry said there were “pinch points”. While the number of ICU beds had risen, it was not “indefinite” and could not continue to absorb all cases, he said.
One out of every three ICU beds is occupied by a Covid patient, which has led to cancellations, he said, and wards could be closed for infection control at any time.
The booster campaign for healthcare works will begin this weekend, he said. The programme will take six weeks as some staff would not have received their second dose less than six months ago and would have to wait to get their booster jab.
“Multiple channels” will be used for the booster campaign including 35 vaccination centres, hospitals and pharmacies, he said. Dr Henry urged anyone who has not yet been vaccinated to do so.