Coronavirus: 37 Confirmed Cases In The Midlands Today

National news updates on Thursday 22nd October.

Latest Figures:

The Health Protection Surveillance Centre has today been notified of 3 additional deaths related to COVID-19.

There has been a total of 1,871 COVID-19 related deaths in Ireland.

As of midnight Wednesday 21st October the HPSC has been notified of 1,066 confirmed cases of COVID-19. There is now a total of 54,476* confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ireland.

Of the cases notified today;

536 are men / 528 are women

67% are under 45 years of age

The median age is 32 years old

244 in Dublin, 104 in Galway, 98 in Cork, 92 in Meath and the

remaining 528 cases are spread across all remaining counties.

As of 2pm today 313 COVID-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 37 are in ICU. 20 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours.

Dr. Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health said; “We are now in Level 5 because the disease is at very serious levels in our country and posing a significant risk to public health.

“We all need to stay at home, except for essential work and exceptional circumstances. If you are a confirmed case self isolate at home, if you are a close contact of a confirmed case restrict your movements at home, if you are experiencing symptoms or believe you are a close contact - restrict your movements and contact your GP.”

Dr. Heather Burns, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health said; “The 14-day incidence was at 3 per 100,000 at the end of June, today it is 302 per 100,000 population. The risk of you being exposed to COVID-19 is now 100 times greater than it was 4 months ago. Please limit your risk by staying at home and following public health advice.”

Professor Philip Nolan, Chair of the NPHET Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group, said “The reproduction number is 1.3 -1.4 nationally. Our collective goal now is to suppress transmission of the virus and bring our case numbers to manageable levels. If we work hard together to get the reproduction number to 0.5, we should succeed in reducing cases to below 100 a day in six weeks time.”

Dr Colm Henry, Chief Clinical Officer, HSE, said; “Based on our experience, widespread community transmission results in spread to vulnerable groups in congregated settings. The single most effective measure to protect vulnerable groups, including nursing homes, is to reduce community transmission significantly. Every one of us has a role to play to achieve this.”

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

*Validation of data at the HPSC has resulted in the denotification of 12 confirmed cases. The figure of 54,476 confirmed cases reflects this.

Dublin:

There's been an angry reaction online to crowds gathering on Grafton Street in Dublin last night just hours before lockdown. 

Videos emerged showing up to 50 people dancing on the street at around 10pm. 

Some people on Twitter have called them selfish, and say they should have been water hosed by the fire brigade. 

https://t.co/5HXjC9OQDM pic.twitter.com/FQkUcRoYDj

— President of Ireland (@PresidentIRL) October 22, 2020

Contact tracing:

Up to 15,000 people may have been affected by issues with Covid-19 contact tracing over the weekend.

The HSE has asked thousands of people who have tested positive for the disease to carry out their own contact tracing.

The Irish Medical Organisation is fearful that people who didn't know they were close contacts may have easily spread the virus in the past couple of days, according to the Irish Independent.

It's also emerged that alerts on the Covid-19 tracker app were delayed on Apple devices, which the HSE was due to a sync issue - but has now been resolved.

Mental health:

More mental health supports are needed for children and teenagers to deal with Covid-19 lockdowns, according to a study from University of Limerick.

The research was carried out between April 10th and May 22nd.

Lead on the project, Dr Jennifer McMahon, says their findings also show increased levels of worry and unhappiness but reduced levels of restlessness:

Northern Ireland:

Northern Ireland Health Minister Robin Swann is self-isolating after receiving a close proximity notification from the Covid-19 tracker app.

Several other other representatives have also received app notifications to isolate. 

In a social media post, Minister Swann says he will be carrying out his ministerial duties from home - for the required two week period. 

He has no symptoms and will only require a test if he develops one of the symptoms of the virus. 

Vaccine:

A report is suggesting current Covid-19 vaccine trials aren't designed to tell us if they'll save lives.

The study, published in the British Medical Journal, looked at those in the most advanced stage.

It highlights that jabs which are declared 'effective' don't currently mean there's a proven way of keeping people from getting very sick and dying.

Report author Peter Doshi says it's about scrutinising the questions these trials are trying to answer:

The 5k restrictions does not apply if you are experiencing domestic violence and abuse. For Support call our team on 0579351886 or 0860419154 #LockdownIreland pic.twitter.com/EbGeQf8bQ0

— ODVSS (@odvss) October 20, 2020

Abuse:

A domestic violence charity says it saw a 43 percent increase in the number of calls from women in abusive relationships during the last lockdown.

Women's Aid says it's preparing for a further surge in contacts during Level 5.

It's currently receiving an extra 1,000 calls a month on top of normal demand.

Chief Executive, Sarah Benson, is worried about the impact of added restrictions:

Schools:

71 percent of teachers don't believe enough has been done to meet the staffing requirements of schools during the pandemic.

A survey of 1,500 members of the Teacher's Union of Ireland also shows 23 percent have an underlying health issue which worries them more during the new restrictions.

TUI President, Martin Marjoram, says more needs to be done to help those teachers:

Gardaí:

Gardaí will introduce more checkpoints from today as part of the Level 5 restrictions.

Training in the Garda College in Templemore will also stop so recruits can be released to help with frontline duties.

The extension of Operation Fanacht will see gardaí continue their policy of policing by consent with enforcement only being used as a last resort.

The release of students and staff from Templemore from November 2nd will also allow up to 260 extra members be drafted in to police checkpoints and provide extra community patrols.

Gardaí say that at any one time over the next six weeks they'll have over two and a half thousand officers on duty

They' will also available for vulnerable people in the community who may need extra assistance during the increased restrictions.

New restrictions:

Level 5 is now in place nationwide in an effort to stop the spread of Covid-19.

It comes as the national 14-day incidence rate per 100,000 is now 291 - while Cavan's is in excess of 1,000.

The restrictions will be in place for six weeks - with people not allowed to travel five kilometres from their home apart from specific reasons.

All non-essential retail is closed, pubs, restaurants and cafes are takeaway only but schools, creches and construction are staying open.

NUI Galway Epidemiologist, Dr. Akke Vellinga, is questioning the need for such strict lockdown measures: