There are positive signs that Ireland's fight against COVID-19 is taking a step in the right direction.
Today Dr Philip Nolan said that there are signs that the rate of which the coronavirus is weakening in Ireland has sped up. Dr Nolan says that the decrease could even be "accelerated".
He was speaking at a briefing at the Department of Health this evening where 437 more cases and no further deaths were confirmed.
And research shows that 48% of people believe that the worst of the pandemic is behind us.
But Dr Ronan Glynn refused to commit to what the situation could be in April or May and said hopefully by the end of the month the picture would be more clear.
Of the cases notified today:
- 216 are men / 218 are women
- 71% are under 45 years of age
- The median age is 34 years old
- 184 in Dublin, 31 in Limerick, 26 in Donegal, 20 in Galway, 18 in Offaly and the remaining 158 cases are spread across all other counties.
Dr. Ronan Glynn, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health said: “Our Amárach research data shows compliance with the key public health measures remain very high; washing hands regularly (93%), using hand sanitiser (95%), social distancing while in a queue (93%).
“While levels of anxiety (36%) and boredom (38%) are understandably high, it is encouraging to see that a sense of hope continues to rise across the population with 48% of people reporting that they feel the worst of the pandemic is behind us.
“This hope is justified in the context of the continued improvement in the key indicators of the disease and with the ongoing rollout of the vaccination programme over the coming weeks. However, it is vital that this hope does not give way to complacency; across Europe countries are seeing a deteriorating picture and our own disease incidence remains high – we must do all we can to continue to suppress this virus and to ensure that as many people as possible get to benefit from vaccination over the coming months. Keep your guard up and hold firm.”
