Virus is thriving at the moment and we have to act, says Dr Holohan

Dr Tony Holohan, chief medical officer at the Department of Health. Picture: Brian Lawless/PA

Covid-19 is thriving in the community and unless the virus is slowed, nursing homes and other vulnerable settings will see further infections and deaths, the chief medical officer (CMO) has warned.

Tony Holohan was speaking at the Department of Health briefing on yesterday evening where 825 new cases of Covid-19 and one further death was confirmed.

The number of nursing home outbreaks had increased to 11 in the past week and widespread community transmission posed a risk to such facilities and other vulnerable settings, he said.

“There is no question, if we see the community transmission patterns continuing to rise then we’re going to see more nursing homes impacted. We’re going to see more nursing home residents infected, and the result of that, unfortunately, will be further mortality,” Dr Holohan warned.

Nationally, the Covid-19 infection rate has trebled from 56 cases per 100,000 population on September 17 to 168 cases per 100,000 population this week.

“What we now have to do is stay apart from each other. Stay physically separate”

“The virus is thriving at the moment and we have to act," Dr Holohan said.

His comments come as three deaths from Covid-19 were confirmed at a nursing home in Laois on Monday.

The owners of the privately run Kilminchy Lodge Nursing Home in Portlaoise confirmed the deaths of three residents and that one other resident had been hospitalised as a result of a Covid-19 outbreak.

The outbreak was confirmed last week and infected 21 residents and 10 members of staff.

Dr Holohan also warned that growth in infections exceeds the capacity of the existing contact tracing system and said our personal behaviour was the first line of defence against the virus.

“The scale of infection in the population now is increasing very rapidly and is beyond the capacity ultimately of, as it stands, our contact tracing to identify, trace and isolate all of those cases individually,” Dr Holohan said.

Meanwhile, a 23-year-old doctor, based at University Hospital Kerry, who suffered acute respiratory and heart failure due to Covid-19, warned that nobody, regardless of age, was immune to its effects.

“I would urge anyone thinking that they are immune to the more severe effects of this disease to think twice and to follow the public health advice,” Dr Owen O’Flynn said.