'No guarantee' restrictions won't return after 'very concerning' rise in cases, says Martin
Mr Martin said that it had been proven that vaccines work, and he appealed to anyone who has not yet been vaccinated to do so to avoid severe illness.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said that the recent increase in cases of Covid-19 is “very concerning” and that it could not be guaranteed that restrictions would not be re-introduced.
Speaking this morning, the Taoiseach said that modelling from the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) had suggested that the current rise in cases would peak at the end of November.
Mr Martin said the use of antigen testing was increasing and that if people collectively remained cautious, “we can avoid the need to have a backward return to restrictions”.
Speaking from the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow, Mr Martin said he had spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennet who told him that Israel's booster campaign had been very successful and impactful on the latest wave of the virus there.
"We have learnt from Covid-19 that no one can guarantee anything," he told RTÉ Radio’s .
Mr Martin said that it had been proven that vaccines work, and he appealed to anyone who has not yet been vaccinated to do so to avoid severe illness.
Meanwhile, two groups representing Irish healthcare workers have welcomed the announcement that Covid-19 booster vaccines will begin to be administered to healthcare staff from this weekend.
Health Minister Stephen Donnelly approved the extension of the booster programme to healthcare workers yesterday afternoon, on foot of recommendations from the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC) to Chief Medical Officer, Dr Tony Holohan.
From this weekend, a booster dose of an mRNA vaccine will be offered to all frontline healthcare workers who have completed their primary course with any Covid-19 vaccine.
Both the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) and Nursing Homes Ireland (NIH), welcomed the decision, though each said the announcement had come later than they would have liked.
"We now need to see a rapid roll-out of the vaccine boosters to healthcare workers to make up for lost time," an INMO spokesperson said.
The spokesperson added that unless "a credible winter plan" was put in place, the number of patients waiting on hospital beds and the number of healthcare staff on Covid-19 leave would continue to increase, leaving the country's hospitals "in a bad place this winter."
This morning, there are 523 patients waiting for beds in hospitals around the country - the highest total since February 2020.
418 patients are waiting in emergency departments, while 105 are waiting in other hospital wards.
At present, roughly 3,500 healthcare staff are unavailable for work because they have contracted Covid-19, or because they are a close contact of a confirmed case.
Nursing Homes Ireland CEO Tadgh Daly said the boosters announcement was "important and welcome."
"The prevalence of Covid-19 is increasing within our communities and this has a direct impact upon our nursing homes and healthcare settings.
"Thankfully the protection afforded to residents is much greater because the vaccination and the booster have considerably strengthened their immunity against the virus," he said.
Mr Daly said the extension of boosters to frontline staff would bring "added protection to those providing person-intensive care in our nursing homes and provide the staff with greater reassurance."
"We will be engaging with the HSE with a view to roll-out of the vaccine in as timely a manner as possible as we enter into the very challenging winter period," he added.
Speaking this morning, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said the country's frontline healthcare workers have "been at the coalface of this pandemic for almost two years, caring for those most vulnerable and making extraordinary personal sacrifices."
Mr Donnelly said that, as with all decisions regarding the administration of Covid-19 vaccines here, the NIAC had reviewed international evidence in presenting their recommendations to him.
“I am working with my Department and the HSE to implement these recommendations as soon as possible.
"It is important that we remember that vaccination, along with our continued adherence to the public health advice we are all so familiar with, are the best ways we can protect each other," he added.
As has been the case with other cohorts, booster jabs to healthcare workers will only be given six months following completion of the primary vaccination schedule.
If a healthcare worker tests positive for Covid-19 after completing their primary vaccine course, the booster will be delayed for at least six months after the Covid-19 infection was diagnosed.
Endorsing yesterday's announcement, Chief Medical Officer, Dr Tony Holohan said vaccinations had already proved "very successful at preventing severe illness and hospitalisation."
"We also know that even when vaccinated we still need to maintain other basic public health interventions - washing our hands, opening windows, wearing masks and most importantly, staying home when we have symptoms.
"These simple measures have shown themselves right through the pandemic to be very successful at breaking the chains of transmission of this disease," he said.
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