Schools reopening 'has not led to increase' in Covid-19 transmission, says Holohan

Since Wednesday last week, a further 30 Covid-19 related deaths have been recorded, bringing the total of fatalities from the disease to 5,209.

Chief medical officer, Dr Tony Holohan, said that health officials were reassured “that the reopening of schools has not led to an increase in transmission of Covid-19”.

Dr Holohan's comments come as news broke that automatic contact tracing of close contacts in primary schools and creches will cease in the coming days.

Health Minister Stephen Donnelly on Wednesday announced a major overhaul of public health advice in Irish education settings.

"This is good news for students, parents and all those involved in the education of our children," says Dr Holohan.

"Given the importance of education for our children we feel that now is the right time to evolve our approach to the public health management of COVID-19 in educational settings."

The Department of Health has confirmed an additional 1,432 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours.

There are 272 people in hospital, down 14, with 63 in ICU, unchanged from yesterday.

Since Wednesday last week, a further 30 Covid-19 related deaths have been recorded, bringing the total of fatalities from the disease to 5,209.

In Northern Ireland, there have been four further deaths of patients who had tested positive for Covid-19.

The Department of Health said there had also been 1,060 new confirmed cases in the last 24-hour reporting period.

This morning there were 397 Covid-19 patients in hospital, with 34 in intensive care. A total of 2,509,462 vaccines have been administered in the North.

Drop in hospitalisations

The overall number of patients in hospital with Covid-19 is continuing to decrease and the majority of those intensive care are unvaccinated, the head of the HSE has said.

As of this morning, there were 272 patients with the virus in hospital - a decrease of 14 from yesterday’s total. 

On Monday, there were 297 patients hospitalised.

There were 272 patients with Covid-19 in hospital this morning. File Picture: PA

In a tweet this morning, HSE CEO Paul Reid said that 60% of the cases in ICU were aged over the age of 50, and the remaining 40% were aged between 19 and 49.

However, Mr Reid said it was “striking” that among those with Covid-19 being treated in ICU, 60% were unvaccinated.

According to the latest available statistics, 91% of Irish adults over the age of 18 are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 - the highest total in the European Union.

93% of adults have had at least one vaccine dose, and among those aged 16 and over, 90.3% are now fully vaccinated. 

Among those aged 12 and over, 90.4% have had one vaccine dose.

Echoing chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan's remarks on Tuesday evening, Mr Reid urged anyone who has not been vaccinated against Covid-19 to come forward for a jab.

"60% of cases in ICU are non vaccinated," Mr Reid said. 

"This is striking when only 9% of adults haven't been fully vaccinated. Vaccinations do protect stronger."

Thankfully #covid19 hospitalised cases now down to 272. In ICU today 60% of cases are 50yrs+ & 40% aged 19-49. However 60% of cases in ICU are non vaccinated. This is striking when only 9% of adults (18+) haven't been fully vaccinated. Vaccinations do protect stronger. @HSELive

— Paul Reid (@paulreiddublin) September 22, 2021

Speaking last night, Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr Tony Holohan said vaccines were providing "very effective protection from severe illness" and had "fundamentally changed the risk profile of Covid-19 in Ireland."

"If you are fully protected through vaccination, then you can have confidence that your vaccination, and your continued adherence to the public health advice appropriate to each environment, is the best way you can protect yourself from Covid-19," he said. 

"It is important that all of us receive our Covid-19 vaccine as soon as it is available to us.

Dr Holohan was speaking as a further 1,423 cases were confirmed by officials at the Department of Health.

The CMO urged anyone displaying cold or flu-like symptoms such as cough, fever, headache, sore throat and blocked or runny nose, to self-isolate immediately. 

"Please do not meet up with others or attend events, work or school. Arrange a PCR test through the HSE as soon as possible," he said.