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YESTERDAY EVENING, THE message from the Taoiseach was grave.
“We are at another critical moment,” Micheál Martin said. “If we want to limit the number of people who get seriously ill or die because of the virus. We need to follow these public health measures.
“We can’t go back. If we falter now every sacrifice we’ve made to date will be for nought.”
Accompanying this stark warning from the Taoiseach was a series of new measures aimed at curbing the spread of Covid-19 in Ireland.
They include sports events and matches reverting to behind closed doors, the limiting of indoor and outdoor gatherings and asking older people to limit their interactions to a small network.
At the weekend, acting chief medical officer Dr Ronan Glynn said we’ve seen multiple clusters and rising numbers of cases in many parts of the country and described this as “deeply concerning”.
“The virus is still out there and has not gone away,” he said.
But where exactly are we at when it comes to Covid-19 at present? Let’s take a look. All of the below data is taken from data supplied by the Department of Health/HSE.
Cases
The headline figure announced each day by the Department of Health is the number of new cases in Ireland.
Where the figures were relatively low in June and early July, they have begun to climb – often sharply – in recent weeks.
Yesterday, 190 new cases of Covid-19 were announced here. It brought the total number of confirmed cases here to 27,499.
Each day of August so far has had in excess of 30 new confirmed cases.
On 8 August, 174 cases were announced – which was the highest for a number of months.
This was eclipsed on 15 August when 200 cases were announced.
The majority of cases this month so far have been in people under the age of 45. While classed – generally – as at a lower risk of getting seriously ill from the virus, spread among any section of the population brings a risk that those at higher risk from the virus can catch it.
There have been in excess of 1,400 new cases of Covid-19 so far this month.
To put that in a bit more context, that’s more than the total number of cases in June and July combined.
It’s worth stressing, however, that the numbers we’re seeing now in terms of new cases aren’t directly comparable to the situation in mid-March where the daily numbers progressed quickly through double figures into triple figures and remained so for two months.
Comparing our situation to other countries, however, and it’s clear that where Ireland is has worsened compared to some of our European counterparts.
The latest data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) says that Ireland has had 22.5 cases per 100,000 of population in the last fortnight.
This is ahead of the UK (20.4), Germany (15.3) and Italy (10.0). But countries faring worse include France (41.4), Sweden (39.4), Belgium (60.8) and Spain (132.2).
Where are these cases?
As we know, outbreaks in Direct Provision centres and meat plants precipitated the fresh restrictions brought in for Kildare, Laois and Offaly.
This month so far – as of 16 August – there have been 431 confirmed cases in Kildare, 57 in Laois and 109 in Offaly.
In that same time, there have been 211 new cases reported in Dublin.
It’s clear that Kildare is seeing the biggest rise in cases but – just yesterday – 38 were reported in Tipperary, 20 in Limerick and seven in Clare.
Other counties seem to be faring far better. Again, as of 16 August, Leitrim has had just one confirmed cases this month.
Yesterday, 75 of the 190 cases were associated with outbreaks or are close contacts of a confirmed cases. A further 14 cases were of community transmission, which is where authorities cannot pinpoint where someone caught the virus. The source of outbreak in the remaining figures from yesterday were not confirmed.
So far this month, there have been a further 183 clusters of the virus identified around the country.
The clusters are linked back – in Kildare, Laois and Offaly – to meat processing facilities but they live and work in the community. An estimated 400-500 of the 1,250 cases or so in the last two weeks are linked to meat factories or direct provision centres.
Dr Glynn has said that cases have been recorded as far west as Birr and Tullamore, as far east as Maynooth and Clane, and south as far as Abbeyleix and Durrow.
The cumulative incidence of the virus also indicates Carlow, Clare, Donegal, Limerick and Wexford have all been experiencing outbreaks in the past week – much smaller than Laois, Kildare, and Offaly – but outbreaks none the less that health authorities are concerned about.
The first two weeks of August were dominated by workplace, household and family outbreaks with few isolated or sporadic cases. However, the latest statistics show workplace outbreaks decreasing and an increasing number of cases that authorities have not been able to find a link to as of yet.
Testing
In the past seven days, there have 55,129 Covid-19 tests completed with a positivity rate of 1.3%. The total number of tests completed in the last 24 hours is 4,339 and a total of 729,913 tests have been completed in total.
The government has been criticised, however, for the slowdown in its testing and tracing system in recent weeks.
This has come as the number of cases has risen sharply, and the number of people coming forward for a test has risen. Contact tracers have also had their workload increase as the number of cases has risen.
According to the HSE, the average time from referral to an appointment in the last seven days was 0.9 days with an average of 1.3 days from a swab being taken to a result.
When it comes to contact tracing, it’s taking an average of 1.8 days to make all of the calls required.
Hospitals
Despite the rise in cases, our hospitals are not facing the same kind of pressure – yet – that they had at the outset of the pandemic.
As of 8am this morning, there were 17 people confirmed to have Covid-19 being treated in hospital. Last night, hospitals in Ireland were treating a further 137 suspected cases of Covid-19.
Also this morning, there six Covid-19 patients in an intensive care unit. Again, this is very low and well below the peak of 140 patients in April.
Last night, there four confirmed Covid-19 patients on ventilators.
All along, it has been stressed that Ireland’s health system would struggle to cope with a huge surge in Covid-19 cases and the latest figures from the HSE bear that out.
Last night, there were 426 critical care beds in the system. Of these, 348 of them were open and staffed.
But, 285 of them were occupied meaning that there were 31 available public critical care beds.
The HSE stressed – on this figure of 31 – that “due to the dynamic nature of reporting, available beds may differ depending on capacity and reserved status at individual sites for critical care beds”.
It is clear that a surge in demand for such beds in the coming months will put a strain on the health service.
Deaths
It is here that the figures also remain quite low at present. There have so far been 1,775 deaths confirmed from Covid-19 in Ireland, with one more person confirmed to have died yesterday.
Five confirmed deaths on 6 August was the highest reported for several weeks, with many days seeing no new deaths recorded with the virus.
However, as the virus continues to spread and cases rise, the government has warned that the death toll is likely to rise again as a result.
At last night’s press conference, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said: “Yes, we have been successful in keeping the number of deaths low – but if the current increase continues it will be impossible to stop the spread of the virus to our most vulnerable and most compromised.
And the virus is as deadly today as it was before. Until there is a vaccine we have to keep our guard up. We have to suppress the virus in order to progress… We have to accept that we have to recommit ourselves to accepting the reality of the continued threat of the virus. Now, as much as ever before, we must remember our responsibilities to each other.
The housing for all plan is just gibbbydouk. Imo.
@Paul Gorry: “Government approves ‘comprehensive’ review…….into whether Ernie & Bert from Sesame Street were lovers. :-)
@Paul Gorry: Why didnt Haughey, Reynolds, Ahern, Bruton and Kenny do it? Because to do so would damage them and their rich property owner friends!!! That’s the real scandal. Ireland has been run by oligarchs for a long time and we have ignored their self enriching actions.
Oh really?? A “comprehensive” review,, well that’s that sorted so….. Jesus wept.
Massively needed. Good news!
Hopefully now we see some building upwards, some density and some realistic planning laws.
@Local Ore: how can itt be good news….it’s just a review we all know nothing will really change after a 26 months a a few million spent on consultants
@David cotter: I don’t disagree that this is just another review that will run and it’s very likely nothing will come of it but at least it’s something.
I don’t believe there is a world where any review would recommend the same, massively outdated, planning laws at least
@Local Ore: there are no tradesmen, end of.
@Ian James Burgess: or reasonably priced materials available
@Ian James Burgess: More than enough from Europe willing to come and work.
@Aranthos Faroth: and live where?, there are no houses…like that song, there’s a hole in the bucket dear Liasa
@Aranthos Faroth: with an improving economy in Eastern Europe and the cost of living in Ireland, I say not as many as before. Also bad for Irish tradesmen as they’ll drive prices down like they did before.
We know about planning, we had the Mahon Tribunal. Corruption all round.
When you see some of the very high density developments in out of town areas (with few if any facilities) you have to wonder what’s driving decisions in an Bord Pleanála. Planning appears to be a dark art in Ireland and in total need of transparent and deep reform.
@CONOR: Governments in Ireland need to address the fact that strategy in this area has not worked. Build a large scale social housing development but designed as a community, with all the resources factored in at the planning stage like schools and shops, transportation and education, recreation open spaces etc etc. It will be cheaper for the taxpayer and better for the residents. Ballyfermot for the 22st century. Developments of 1500 1 bed build to rent apartments is not the way to address this. Build people homes in communities. Not just this government’s fault by the was, policy failures for decades but the proposed solutions of high density on every corner is not the way forward
Any chance they would talk some sense into Clare County Council and the absolute nonsense that’s going on with Blake’s Corner in Ennistymon and the most ridiculous bottle neck stifling tourism in West Clare. Instead of removing a pile of rubble, they propose to spend 4 million of taxpayers money building a new route knocking several houses and one viable business. Jesus wept.
As the Titanic was sinking the Captain of the ship approved a comprehensive review of the deckchair allocation system.
Jasus is there no end to this bulls hite.
It’s what Martin and other career politicans have always done, refer the issue at hand to be reviewed by a committee. It enables him to sub contract the problem to a committee who’ll take years to come back with their findings. The lad can’t make a decision or give an honest answer on anything.
The government just want to fix the planning laws in favour of big developers building high rent apartments. And how can the freedom of information act be fix if some people get away with deleting messages and destroying documents..
@Odd Socks: yes the review will recommend making it easier for big developers to get planning permission while simultaneously making it far more difficult for the individual to get planning.
Watch this space. They have been putting up barriers to people building by direct labour for years.
This is not a government for the people.
Yesterday he announced a review of patients waiting lists and today a review of planning laws. Wonder what soundbite he will come out with tomorrow. He is just ticking the boxes.
More time lost. Wasn’t the SHD process supposed to address such issues??
@Eoin Roche: it was but as bord pleanala were judge and jury then judicial reviews became the only appeal option. The planning system overall as a result is bogged down in legal argument where planning decisions themselves rather that the process of determination of decisions are coming under scrutiny by judges who are not planners. Frivolous Third party rights of appeal and endless court battles are not good for getting things done
Let’s have a review about the review about the review!
A government run on hot air by useless baloons.
They’re still hiding the report into planning corruption in Donegal. They’re up to their necks in it and trying to pull the wool. Anyone with connections or damning information will be untouched.
It was 2002 when Gerard Convie, senior planner with Donegal County Council made allegations about a “golden circle of corruption” operated within the planning system in Donegal.
https://www.friendsoftheirishenvironment.org/eu/36-papers-today/planning/16851-
When Letterkenny General Hospital flooded in 2014. Planning was the main issue. It’s even being reported the same company behind manufacturing pyrite blocks also were involved in the Meenbeg wind farm environment disaster.
Elections come ff/fg will be gone….then a new government with a new plan,goes on and on
Great, start with the nonsense local planning laws that stop ‘non locals’ from buying land and building houses unless there living there 7 years. Madness that you can’t buy land anywhere on the Island and apply for planning unless your from there. Any citizen should be able to buy and build wherever they want subject to the same rules. Or, to level the playing field don’t allow rural people to relocate to urban centres and own property as ‘they’re not local’. Effectively corrals people into souless overpriced housing estates
Whatever is needed must be implemented. Soft rules must be broken!!
Classless photo.
How long have we waited for this? Amazing the energy that gets put behind plans and words when the poll’s are not doing what they are supposed to do. “They” had ample opportunity to deliver a fit for purpose housing plan and failed to deliver over the decades. Asleep at the wheel or lining their own pockets?
Haha
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