Strict Covid-19 restrictions to be reimposed before New Year's Eve
Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan, Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Ronan Glynn, Professor Philip Nolan, chair of the Nphet Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group, and Dr Deirdre Mulholland, director of public health, HSE East at the Covid-19 update press conference at the Department of Health. Picture: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin
Strict restrictions look likely to be reimposed on the public before New Year's Eve due to the rapid rise in Covid-19 infections.
Restrictions are being eased from today with people allowed to travel outside their county, while up to three households may meet in each other's homes as part of their Christmas celebrations
The lighter regulations were due to be in place until January 6.
However, after receiving recommendations from the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet), Taoiseach Micheál Martin and his fellow Cabinet members will now meet on Tuesday to discuss an earlier clampdown which has been recommended by Nphet.
Dr Tony Holohan, the chief medical officer, confirmed a specific date has been recommended but would not say what it is, while Mr Martin said it is "likely to be before New Year's Eve".
The restrictions could include reducing household visiting to just one and further curtailments on the beleaguered hospitality sector, the Taoiseach told RTÉ News.
Meanwhile, speaking on RTÉ tonight, Mr Varadkar rejected the idea that the Government’s decision to open hospitality and allow household visits for December was a mistake.
He said he understood people will be disappointed that their New Year’s plans will be disrupted, but said the trajectory of the virus was not where the Government or Nphet wanted.
He said if numbers continue to rise, impending restrictions may have to be tougher. He said there had been no excess deaths so far this winter and this is what he is hoping to avoid.
Mr Varadkar said he believed the first vaccinations in Ireland would take place in the days around New Year’s Eve.
Nphet on Thursday confirmed another three deaths and 484 new cases of the virus, bringing the total number of confirmed deaths to 2,143 and the number of cases nationally to 77,678.
The crucial 14-day incidence rate of the virus has risen to 94.2, and the number of patients in hospital with the virus rose slightly to 200 with an increase of two for patients in the ICU to 31.
Dr Holohan said: “We are now getting reports of substantial outbreaks in social settings, including workplaces, Christmas parties, and funerals. I cannot stress enough how important is it to limit your interactions now.”
He said public health data shows cases arising from large funerals "well beyond the guideline size both in the religious sense and in the sense of events taking place afterwards giving rise to substantial numbers of cases".
Professor Philip Nolan, chair of the Nphet Irish Epidemiological Modelling Agency, warned the reproduction number is estimated as between 1.1 and 1.3, higher than Nphet would have expected it to be by yesterday.
“We are also beginning to see increased demand for testing, about 800 additional tests being done per day over the last seven days compared with the seven days before that,” he said.
The number of close contacts is now about 3.4 per case.
"We are now at a high or a very high risk of surge in January," he said adding that the public should limit their contacts and space the days between each visit.
Meanwhile, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly gave the Dáil the latest details on the vaccine rollout under the Covid-19 vaccination task force.
“Vaccines will be rolled out in three phases. The first phase will be the initial rollout, this will be followed by a mass ramp-up, and finally we will have open access,” he said.
“They will be provided at no cost. All vaccinators will be qualified and registered healthcare professionals who will receive comprehensive and specialist training on Covid-19 vaccines.”
The vaccines will be available at long-term care facilities including nursing homes, large sites like hospitals, GP clinics, and pharmacies. The HSE is also setting up mass vaccination centres.
Mr Donnelly said: "The vaccines are not a silver bullet. We will still be observing public health measures well into 2021.”
The latest update from Dr Holohan to Mr Donnelly called for the speed and effort of the local health service on the ground to be increased due to the rising number of positive cases.
The letter also refers to concerns expressed by the HSE about the continued absence of a case and incident management system and the need to improve the Covid Tracker app.
