Covid cases 'steady' but fears January surge could be repeated, says Cork GP
Dr Mary Favier, a member of Nphet, is urging people to be cautious despite the positive trends.
The five-day moving average of Covid-19 cases has dropped by 24% since last Saturday.
It now stands at 327, after 259 cases were reported yesterday - the lowest in nearly six months.
There are currently 76 Covid patients in hospital, with 27 intensive care.
Dr Mary Favier, a member of Nphet, is urging people to be cautious despite the positive trends.
"General practitioners have noticed over the past week or two that despite increased socialisation the numbers are holding steady," said Dr Favier.
"The referrals they are seeing, those with symptoms, is holding steady which is really welcome.
"But there is the proviso - middle of December last year we were roughly the same and we know what happened when we were at 6,000+ cases in January."
The Cork GP said there is still trepidation among healthcare workers that what happened in January could happen again.
If there was a surge in case numbers it is hoped that the number of hospitalisations and ICU admissions remain low.
she warned.
People in their 30s are set to be able to register for a Covid-19 vaccine next week as the HSE says it expects registration for 30 to 39-year-olds to open online shortly.
Over 3.1 million vaccines have been administered so far with registration still open for 40 to 69-year-olds.
Tony O'Brien, former director-general of the HSE, welcomed the news and said it is very significant milestone.
He said it is a sign that Ireland's vaccine rollout is catching up with the UK.
"Following that age group then we will get to the 20s and the teens and that should set us up very well for opening universities at the start of next term," said Mr O'Brien.
Meanwhile, tonight will see the first concert with a live audience since the start of the pandemic take place in Dublin.
James Vincent McMorrow and Sorcha Richardson will perform for 500 people in Iveagh Gardens from 7pm.
The gig is the first of many test events to take place outdoors this summer.
It is being organised by the National Concert Hall and chief executive Robert Read says it will be a wonderful and historic occasion.
The small number of people in attendance is to ensure the test event can maintain high standards of public health and safety measures.
"We are having staggered entry and departure times and we have a lot of our front-of-house team on site to ensure that people are observing physical distancing," said Mr Read.
"We have pods marked out on the lawn, there is about 150-180 of those so that people can be contained within a small perimeter."
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