More than 180 Covid-19 outbreaks in nursing homes

To date, 161,600 vaccine shots have been given according to the HSE. Picture: PA

There are currently Covid-19 outbreaks in 181 nursing homes across the country and four homes where residents still have not received their first vaccine dose.

That is despite the Government's pledge that every resident would have received the initial jab by last Sunday.

As a further 47 deaths from the virus were confirmed yesterday and an additional 1,466 cases, chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan expressed concern about the level of mortality in long-term care settings and vulnerable groups as well as the continued high mortality rate generally.

The latest figures bring the total number of deaths to 3,167 including 878 just in January. As of 2pm yesterday, there were 1,567 Covid-19 patients in hospitals across the country, 216 of them in ICU.

Nonetheless, Dr Holohan acknowledged the overall situation is improving and said he is "optimistic" based on current trends.

The country's efforts to combat the virus in recent weeks, described as 'extraordinary' by the National Public Health Emergency Team, mean full contact tracing and testing of close contacts will be able to restart from today.

Tracing was suspended last month as the high number of cases at that point made it impossible to trace everybody involved. Since then, close contacts of confirmed cases have merely been texted. HSE chief executive Paul Reid confirmed close contacts will now have appointments made for them to be tested on day five.

The chair of the Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group, Professor Philip Nolan, said cases could drop as low as 200 per day by the end of next month if the current trend continues.

“We have achieved suppression of transmission with the R number estimated at 0.4  to  0.7," he said, adding there had been a large drop in test positivity rates to 9%.

In a further boost to the country's efforts to quash the virus, it is hoped the AstraZeneca vaccine will be approved by the European Medicines Agency later today. 

To date, 161,600 vaccine shots have been given according to the HSE.

As of January 27, 71,600 doses have been administered to long-term residents in care facilities. A further 89,900 were given to frontline health care workers with 13,800 second doses administered.

Meanwhile, Tánaiste Tánaiste Leo Varadkar suggested in the Dáil that the Government and opposition parties should come together to discuss ways to supress Covid-19.

"I think we need to talk about the practicalities and I think we also need to talk about the pros and cons, and nobody should enter any discussion or debate on these matters ruling out any strategy or dismissing or rejecting any proposals or suggestions."

Mr Varadkar was responding to Labour leader Alan Kelly, who has proposed a national aggressive suppression strategy, which he believes will give people in Ireland a “chance of normality”.

There was confusion in the Dáil after Health Minister Stephen Donnelly claimed 48,000 Pfizer vaccines arrived into the country this week. 

However, the HSE say just 24,570 doses arrived in the same time period.

Social Democrats co-leader Róisín Shortall accused the minister of “over promising” after he admitted that the target to have 700,000 people vaccinated by the end of March is now unlikely to be met.