As the country battles through the Covid-19 pandemic there is continued hope that Ireland will soon see the end to most restrictions.
Vaccine uptake in Ireland is one of the highest in the world as the rollout ramps up each day.
However, there have still been some concerns expressed by public health experts about the continued rise of the Delta variant as the race continues to finish vaccinating the population.
Dr Tony Holohan points out huge vaccine difference
The Chief Medical Officer has expressed his latest concerns about the Covid-19 incidence in Ireland as cases continue to rise.
And he urged people to continue to practice caution over the coming weeks while also pointing out the huge difference vaccines are making to the latest wave.
He said: “As a public health doctor, I am keenly aware of the impact the public health advice has had on all in society. Making the decision not to attend work or socialise if you are displaying symptoms can be very difficult. Similarly, choosing to leave a family gathering or social event because it doesn’t feel safe is hard and can cause anxiety.
“Unfortunately, the fact remains that incidence of Covid-19 in Ireland is continuing to increase. Our current 14-day incidence is 493 per 100,000, the highest it’s been since January 31, and incidence of disease is continuing to rise steadily in nearly all age groups and in 21 out of 26 counties.
"Last Tuesday, we were seeing an average of 3 people with COVID-19 admitted to ICU per day, today, that figure has doubled to 6 people with Covid-19 admitted to ICU per day.
“If we didn’t have vaccination our current 14-day incidence would be approximately 1,000 per 100,000 and we would be seeing up to 50 people admitted to hospital for every 1,000 cases reported. Instead, we are seeing about 20 people admitted to hospital for every thousand cases reported.
“We have an opportunity over the next few weeks to break the chains of transmission by continuing to follow the public health advice that is second nature to most of us at this stage. If you have any symptoms that indicate that you may have Covid-19 like cough, fever, headache, sore throat and blocked or runny nose - isolate and get a test immediately.
"Make plans to socialise safely and risk assess as you go, meet up with others outdoors, if possible, try to meet up in small groups and avoid crowds. If you do not feel safe, then leave. Ensure to attend for your Covid-19 vaccine when it is your turn to do so, particularly for your second dose.”
Roadmap emerges
Plans are now emerging for the government to announce the further easing of Covid-19 restrictions by the end of the month.
There has been many reports that the government had plans to continue lifting restrictions in the coming weeks with a huge chunk of the population vaccinated.
The Irish Examiner reports a government Covid-19 sub-committee meeting will be held this Thursday where a run down of the situation will be discussed.
Then a more substantive meeting will take place next week, which will include briefings from public health officials.
Nursing home fears
Meanwhile, there have been some fears expressed about further Covid-19 outbreaks in nursing homes.
Residential care settings were some of the worst-hit areas of the first wave of the pandemic, residents and staff were among the first people in the country to be vaccinated.
However, an industry body has warned that a small but “concerning” increase in Covid-19 cases in nursing homes has been detected over the past number of weeks.
Tadhg Daly, Nursing Homes Ireland chief executive, said the ransomware hack of the HSE meant there were no publicly available numbers on open outbreaks, but he believed there were up to 20 across public and private units around the country.
The outbreaks are among both vaccinated and unvaccinated people.
Thankfully vaccines have meant that people are not becoming as sick as previous waves of the virus.
