Coronavirus: 136 New Cases Confirmed

National news updates on Thursday 20th August.

Figures:

The Health Protection Surveillance Centre has today been informed that 1 person with COVID-19 has died.

There has now been a total of 1,776 COVID-19 related deaths in Ireland.

As of midnight Wednesday 19th August, the HPSC has been notified of 136 confirmed cases of COVID-19. There is now a total of 27,676 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ireland.

Of the cases notified today;

54 are men / 81 are women

78% are under 45 years of age

57 are confirmed to be associated with outbreaks or are close contacts of a confirmed case

11 cases have been identified as community transmission

51 in Dublin, 24 in Kildare, 12 in Kilkenny, 11 in Tipperary, 7 in Cork, 6 in Limerick, 6 in Wexford, 5 in Meath and the remaining 14 cases are in Carlow, Cavan, Donegal, Galway, Mayo, Offaly, Roscommon, Waterford and Wicklow.

The total numbers in the midlands, as of measured at midnight on Tuesday 18 August, stands at 1.650.

683 people in Westmeath have diagnosed with the illness, while the total in Offaly is 603 and 364 in Laois.

The HSE is working to identify any contacts the patients may have had to provide them with information and advice to prevent further spread.

Acting chief medical officer Ronan Glynn says the number of cases has been rising over the past two weeks.

Note: The acting Chief Medical Officer, Ronan Glynn, releases figures for the counties with the highest number of cases as of midnight, and the latest county by county breakdown available from the Department of Health are measured at midnight on Tuesday 18th August. 

Study:

Less than 2% of the Irish population has been infected with Covid-19.

The study was conducted by the Health Protection Surveillance Centre in June and July.

It found 0.65 of people in Sligo had been infected with the disease and 3.1% in Dublin.

Based on that, the HSPC estimates the national prevalence is 1.7%.

School buses:

School buses for secondary school students will operate at 50 per cent capacity when they return.

In a statement this evening the Department of Education says it is in discussions with Bus Eireann about the plans.

It follows the most recent advice from NPHET on public transport policy.

Primary school transport will proceed as planned with additional measures and hygiene requirements in place.
 

Schools:

Schools will evolve and adapt to the threat of Covid-19, according to the Taoiseach.

The government is pressing ahead with plans to reopen schools next week.

Students are due to return to class for the first time since March. 

Micheál Martin says implementing the restrictions this week has shown they are willing to move quickly to stop the virus:

The Taoiseach has said the Education Minister has no issue going before the Covid-19 committee.

Norma Foley has been facing pressure from the opposition to face questions on the predictive grading system for the leaving cert, as well as concerns over the reopening of schools.

Works are taking place at schools around the country over the past couple of weeks to get buildings ready to reopen within the next 10 days.

Mr.  Martin says the Minister has gone before the committee before:

Arts:

Representatives of the arts industry are calling for talks with health authorities following the latest rules governing indoor events.

Museums, cinemas, theatres and art galleries can continue to operate under the new measures to stop the spread of Covid - 19 but overall attendance must adhere to a limit of 50 people.

All other indoor cultural events are subject to the 6 person maximum rule and 15 for outdoor events.

Angela Dorgan, Chair of National Campaign for the Arts in Ireland says music venues have lost out:

Contacts:

Some people testing positive for Covid-19 have up to 50 contacts, according to the head of the HSE.

12 people are in the country's intensive care units receiving treatment after contracting the disease.

The HSE says it takes 2.3 days for a person to get referred for a test to their contacts being traced - however that figure is the median. 

CEO of the HSE Paul Reid says some people have a lot of contacts:

Restrictions:

A junior minister admits there has been 'a lack of synergy' in the government messaging around Covid 19.

Josepha Madigan says it's important that departments and ministers talk to each other to improve communications to the public.

There was confusion about new covid measures being introduced, following a press conference earlier this week. 

Minister Madigan admits the government needs to ensure that 'missed opportunities for cohesion' don't happen again:

Museums, cinemas and theatres:

Museums, cinemas, theatres and art galleries can continue to operate under the new measures to stop the spread of Covid - 19

The government says that these venues are deemed to be controlled environments, with appropriate protective measures in place.

The clarification comes after there was confusion over the latest restrictions to stop the spread of the virus.

It says museums, cinemas, theatres and art galleries can continue to operate under the new measures.

It says they can do so where physical distancing and all other protective measures can continue to be maintained. 

Individual groupings attending these venues must be limited to six people from no more than 3 households. 

And overall attendance must adhere to a limit of 50 people.

Jobs:

More than 1,200 jobs have been lost in Kildare over the past two weeks, according to County Kildare Chamber. 

It says the lockdown should only remain in place in the south of the county, where there've been several outbreaks. 

Chamber chief executive Allan Shine says the restrictions have had a major impact on businesses:

UK:

Researchers in the UK have discovered almost three quarters of patients were still suffering with coronavirus, three months after being admitted to hospital. 

Respondents to a survey said they struggled with breathlessness and found it difficult to carry out tasks like washing, dressing, or going back to work.  

Dr David Arnold was part of the team which carried out the study, he says there could be a number of reasons why many continue to suffer:

Weddings:

There are calls for clarity over weddings after the government introduced new restrictions this week.

Indoor gatherings and events are now limited to 6 people - however there is an exception for weddings.

Up to 50 people are allowed to attend indoor weddings.

But wedding planner Tara Fay says the guidelines aren't clear enough:

Broadband:

Broadband usage has jumped by 40 percent sine the beginning of lockdown.

That's according to Virgin Media, which is launching a gigabit service that could download a HD movie in about 16 seconds.

The company has spent over a billion euro on infrastructure that will serve around a million homes.

Spokesperson Paul Higgins says people are using their home networks for a variety of purposes recently:

Nursing homes:

The INMO claims it's 'unrealistic' for nursing home staff to be banned from working across 'multiple sites' during the pandemic. 

It's one of the recommendations from yesterday's report by the Covid-19 Nursing Homes Expert Panel. 

The group says adequate contracts should be put in place to support this. 

INMO general secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha says the recommendation is not achievable:

Lockdown:

A national lockdown has been informally discussed between public health officals and Ministers.

The Irish Times reports that experts have warned restrictions like those implemented in March may have to be reinstated if Covid-19 cases continue to rise.

It's believed Government discussed the possibility of a lockdown in the past couple of days but agreed it could not happen again.

Face masks:

Researchers believe messages of 'social solidarity' might persuade more people to wear a face mask.

Writing in the British Medical Journal, they say words like 'decontamination' and 'risk' are putting people off.

The academics claim losing some of the medical jargon will help shape a 'new norm' when it comes to protecting against coronavirus.

Herd-immunity:

Herd-immunity is not a solution to Covid-19, according to the World Health Organisation.

More than 785,000 people in the world have now died with the disease, while over 22.2 million cases have been recorded, according to Johns Hopkins University. 

More than half are in three countries - with 11.6 million cases in the United States, Brazil and India. 

Dr Mike Ryan, from the World Health Organisation, says so-called 'herd immunity' is not the answer to the pandemic:

Church:

People will be asked to wear face coverings in all churches from August 30th. 

The leaders of the Catholic, Church of Ireland, Presbyterian and Methodist churches have issued the call jointly.

People will be formally 'recommended and encouraged' to use them in all services.

But Bishop of Elphin, Kevin Doran, says they will not be mandatory. 

Bishop Doran says some people will be exempt:

Local figures:

Two more people with COVID-19 have died here. 

It brings the death toll to 1,775, while 54 new cases have been recorded today.

19 are in Dublin, 8 in Kildare, 5 in Tipperary and the rest of the cases are in Carlow, Clare, Donegal, Kerry, Kilkenny, Laois, Limerick, Longford, Louth, Meath, Offaly, Waterford and Wexford

There have been 552 new confirmed cases since Saturday, with 27,547 total infections since the outbreak began.

Statistics measured at midnight on Monday 17th August show there have been 683 cases confirmed in Westmeath, 602 in Offaly and Laois has had 363. 

Note: The acting Chief Medical Officer, Ronan Glynn, releases figures for the counties with the highest number of cases as of midnight, and the latest county by county breakdown available from the Department of Health are  measured at midnight on Monday 17th August.