Coronavirus: 190 New Cases Confirmed

National news on Tuesday 18th August.

Latest figures:

190 new cases have been confirmed today in the Republic. 

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

There has now been a total of 1,775 COVID-19 related deaths in Ireland.

As of midnight Monday 17th August, the HPSC has been notified of 190 confirmed cases of COVID-19. There is now a total of 27,499* confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ireland.

Of the cases notified today:

76 are men / 111 are women

75% are under 45 years of age

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

14 cases have been identified as community transmission

48 in Kildare, 46 in Dublin, 38 in Tipperary, 20 in Limerick, 7 in Clare and the rest of the 31 cases are in Carlow, Cork, Kerry, Kilkenny, Laois, Louth, Meath, Offaly, Waterford, Wexford and Wicklow.

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

The COVID-19 Dashboard provides up-to-date information on the key indicators of COVID-19 in the community.

Dr. Ronan Glynn, Acting Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health, said; “As we learn to live with this disease, we need to strike a balance between enjoying our lives and behaving responsibly. By reducing our social contacts and following the public health advice we can suppress this virus.

“To keep our shops, hotels, restaurants and sporting activities open, we need every household to play it’s part and every workplace and organisation to provide a safe environment so that we can protect our loved ones, safeguard the most vulnerable, protect our health services and ensure children get back to school in the coming weeks.”

*Validation of data at the HPSC led to the denotification of four confirmed cases. The figure of 27,499 reflects this.

All statistics measured at midnight on Sunday 16 August show there have been 683 cases confirmed in Westmeath, 601 in Offaly and Laois has had 362. 

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 Sunday 16th August. 

Ageism:

A leading public health expert fears the Government's going towards an 'age-apartheid' approach in its attempts to suppress the spread of  COVID-19.

The National Public Health Emergency team has recommended older people limit their movements in response to an increase in cases in the last two weeks.

A recommendation to reduce the numbers gathering in a home from ten to six will also be discussed at Cabinet this afternoon.

Dr Gabriel Scally believes older people have already played their part in tackling the virus, but admits it's a difficult situation:

CEO of Age Action Ireland, Paddy Connolly, says restrictions on older people raise a number of issues:

Schools:

Teachers are raising concerns about how they will manage in scenarios where students need to share equipment.

The ASTI says its received calls from Art and woodwork teachers as schools prepare to reopen. 

There's also questions being raised about whether students will be allowed off the school grounds for lunch, as they may congregate outside shops. 

ASTI President Ann Piggott says some schools are planning to stagger lunch breaks:

Tracing:

The country's test and trace system for Covid 19 is now taking almost four days to complete.

The time it takes from a person being referred for a test to their close contacts being traced was 3 days at the start of the month.

It's now increased to 3.8 days, as demand for testing rises.

Teresa Heeney, CEO of Early Childhood Ireland, is worried about the impact any delays will have on the childcare sector:

One of the best ways to keep yourself and others safe from #coronavirus is to wash your hands. Take a look at our video to find out more about washing your hands correctly #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/eNFrXENQfd

— HSE Ireland (@HSELive) August 18, 2020

Potential Restrictions:

Older and vulnerable people will be told to limit their time outdoors again, while indoor family gatherings will be reduced to just six.

They're among the measures NPHET's recommending to government to combat a recent upsurge in Covid-19 cases.

Government minister's will meet later to consider new advice from the National Public Health Emergency Team.

The full Cabinet meeting was not scheduled and raises the possibility that further restrictions are on the way.

According to the Irish Independent, NPHET's recommended that older people should once again restrict their movements and avoid large gatherings.

It's suggesting that the numbers permitted in a home are reduced to six to clamp down on house parties, while outdoor home gatherings should be cut to 15.

It's also advising that people who can work from home should do so for the coming weeks.

It comes as 56 new cases of Covid-19 were confirmed yesterday, with 322 cases identified since Saturday.

18 people are currently being treated in hospitals for the virus, with eight confirmed cases in ICUs.

Cabinet: 

The Cabinet's sub-Committee on COVID-19 will meet to discuss recommendations made by the National Public Health Emergency Team.

It comes after 56 new cases were confirmed yesterday, with 322 cases being identified since Saturday.

The Acting Chief Medical Officer Dr Ronan Glynn has said in recent days that the rising number of cases is concerning ahead of the reopening of schools.

He said we were seeing cases all over the country, and not just in the three lockdown counties in the midlands.

Yesterday evening, NPHET was meeting to analyse the recent spike in cases and to make recommendations to the government.

In recent days, the questions haven't been so much as will the midlands leave lockdown this Sunday, but could some more local restrictions be imposed elsewhere.

The Cabinet sub-committee will meet today to discuss the recommendations.