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A FURTHER 411 new cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed in Ireland, the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) has said this afternoon.
In a statement, it said that a further six people confirmed to have Covid-19 have died. All of these deaths occurred in March.
The death toll from Covid-19 in Ireland is 4,687, and the total number of confirmed cases is now at 235,854.
As of 8am today, 297 COVID-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 67 are in ICU. 16 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours.
As of March 28h 2021, 806,541 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Ireland:
Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Ronan Glynn said there is a critical window over the next eight weeks where any significant increase in close contact is likely to lead to a significant fourth wave of infection in the range of that experienced in January 2021.
“We can and should be optimistic for an enjoyable summer ahead but, in the meantime, we have to continue to work together to prevent a further wave of infection as we accelerate vaccination across society and maintain our health services,” he said.
Professor Philip Nolan, chair of the epidemiological modelling advisory group, said the reproduction number is currently estimated at between 1.0 and 1.3.
If the epidemic is growing again now, the doubling time is estimated at 35 days or longer.
“When comparing the risks of levels of social mixing now and over the coming months with that which applied in 2020, we need to take into account the B.1.1.7 variant and how easily that transmits, and we must also take account the vaccination-induced immunity that will progressively protect us and make it more difficult for the virus to transmit,” he said.
“Vaccination will contribute greatly to the easing of measures in the coming months, however now we need keep transmission as low as possible so that vaccination of the population can take place and have the desired effect.”
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Wow! That’s early for the daily figures!
@Ger Walsh: They are all going for cans in the park.
@Derek Goulding: I’d rather a bag of cans then a bag of can’t!
@Derek Goulding: woohoo, let’s go
@Ger Walsh: all going to the cop shop for hair cuts!!
@Tracey Keating Coughlan: I’d actually vote for a politician who used that as their campaign slogan
@Derek Goulding: best comment everrrr.
@Laura Mulcahy: count me in
@Ger Walsh: Figures out 2 hours early. Trying to fool us again. Splitting figures. How could you compare when they not released at same time ?
@Getaldine Byrne: once again, the figure we are given on any given day are briefed to the government the evening before. So it does not matter what time of the day they are released to the public, it would be the same number whether it was released at 00.01 this morning or 23.59 tonight.
@Sean O Cathasaigh: hahaaa! Ah sure we elected these
Wow. The lads who went religiously for 6 to post on this will be fuming!!!
@Mark Murphy: not if they have their push notifications turned on!!
@Trish O’Leary-Dunne: no doubt some will think its a conspiracy by NPHET to silence them or something.
@Mark Murphy: Some people actually work, at least you didn’t miss out, but Ally was on the ball and justin not long after either so most of the religious poster boys got theirs in.
Open the pubs!
@Kyle: hear hear, I’ve a throat on me..
@Kyle: all good things come to those who wait…& Wait…& Wait …ah screw it Ur right ..Open the D*mn Pubs!
@Adrian O’Donnell: test?
Average age about 25 again I presume? Little or no covid in the older age groups anymore thankfully. Case numbers aren’t as important anymore – icu and hospitalisations are key
@David Kelly: ohhh but they might pass it on.
@Locutus Of Borg: maybe but most of the vulnerable have been vaccinated
@john s: Everybody is vulnerable, Long Covid is not a nice thing to have listen to this 17 year old https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXctSeFphw8
@Gary Kearney: Anytime someone else posts a YouTube video you call it a crackpot conspiracy Gary. But you work away there..
@Gary Kearney: here are some facts.
98%+ survive covid
Less than 10% of people who get covid need to be hospitalised.
Covid like every virus effects people differently but thankfully covid is still 98%+ non fatal.
But you stick with the exceptions and making stuff up and i will stick with the facts.
@john s: John, here is a fact for you. As I’ve stated here before, I’ve a sister a nurse. She has lost patients with CoViD-19, and I don’t mean just tested positive for it like a lot on here seem to think “with” means. It was what killed them. Go talk to a nurse who has lost patients with/due/from this blasted thing, what ever way you want to say it and see what they think of your 98% figure. I’ll leave them tell you what it’s like. But when you do, stop quoting it. That 2% that don’t survive are human beings with families and friends, and those that suffer long term effects from contracting it have their own battle to fight afterwards.
@Joe_X: thanks Joe for your comment and agreeing with my numbers as stated. thank your sister for all her hard work.
@john s: I always do. And to her colleagues. They are taking a right toll at the moment.
@Gary Kearney: thanks for the anecdote.
Cases dropping is good news, even if it’s not a massive drop
Cases always low on Saint Benjamin’s day.
@Biscuits Patinkin: don’t forget it’s Saint Guy of Pomposa’s Day too.
Thanks Conor, I nearly forgot about him and his miraculous llamas.
@Rob: probably low because it came in so early…. I presume I’m wrong!
Jaysus they are on the ball today
@Jon Uggy: Deaths down, cases down, good news all round…. Oops I forgot, this is journal.ie.
Long for the day that I come on the journal and these nonsense headlines are a distant memory.
The headline actually makes pretty good sense to be fair.
@Biscuits Patinkin: strange low yesterday too before M M addressed the nation?
@Mary Oliver: oh give it a rest. Are you really that skeptical that you think you are being lied to about case numbers? Are you sure you dont have a virus?
@JustBEERbarry: of course not just a remark
@Mary Oliver: They are all in the pay of Gates, definitly
Better than the 683 last Wednesday and the 557 the Wednesday before
@Jon Uggy: NPHET conspiracy don’t you know.
@Jon Uggy: yes 411 across the whole country with 4,900,000 people. It is good news a pity scaremongering is the way the government and nphet approach covid. A virus with 98%+ survival rate, at a time when about 600,000 vulnerable and frontline workers are already into the vaccination process on top.
What do nphet say, don’t go anywhere hide under a rock. 500,000 people forced out of work. These guys are great.
@john s: Do you copy and paste that every day?
@Seán O Ciara: He does indeed Sean, only allowed out of hir room for a short spell each day so he has to meke the most of it.
@Seán O Ciara: more or less so people who try to scaremonger can see that this is not like the plague or ebola. Which is the approach by nphet and the government.
@john s: and the approach of many more countries… the evil NPHET have so much power they just forced Macron to announce a 4 week nationwide lockdown with closure of all schools and crèches. Maybe they don’t know your facts John s.
@ForrestG45: what country has had a nationwide lock down for 6month+ in the last year. What other country has forced 20% of it employed citizens out of work, some for more than a year now. Using a couple of weeks of a lockdown to month after month is not a good comparison
@john s: The vast majority agree with what the government has done so far. The silent majority. You keep copying and pasting.
@Seán O Ciara: no they don’t hence the restrictions being lifted
@john s: Some restrictions are being lifted because of the good work of the vast majority. I have no clue what you are talking about. Just stick to copy and paste.
Schools closed, cases drop????
@Tombmunster: Please, just dont haha.
@Tombmunster: Not this early on. If there’s a drop next week, it’d potentially to donwith schools. We’ll wait and see I suppose
@Tombmunster: cop on.. Its the play dates after the over crowded class rooms that is causing the problem
@Tombmunster: numbers drop next week rapidly and rise when we have full opening on the 12th be interesting to see how they will spin that
@Tombmunster: 10/10 for that and a gold star!!
Nphet warn ‘very marginal increase’ of close social contacts will likely lead to ‘significant fourth wave’
https://www.independent.ie/world-news/coronavirus/nphet-warn-very-marginal-increase-of-close-social-contacts-will-likely-lead-to-significant-fourth-wave-40261403.html
Unbelievable. Do they ever stop with their fear tactics?
@Robert Clifford: What fear tactics, if people mix too much the virus will spread and as it spreads rapidly, they are saying what could happen if people get sloppy.
@Robert Clifford: late to the party today Robert, what mad theory have you for that!
@Robert Clifford: it makes me laugh that we’re the only country in Europe, maybe the world, that have had 3 waves already. I believe we had 2 like everyone else with a slight dip at the beginning of the second. But the more waves the better for NPHET’s fear tactics.
@Robert Clifford: you would swear they watched that exact same scenario playing out across most of mainland Europe or something.
@Colin McNamara: we had the unilateral declaration of a wave in early October…our mathematical modeling expert Prof. Nolan refused to recognise the impact of schools returning in September and with the help of a returning CMO, anxious to put down a marker they locked us up for 6 weeks with the help of some selective leaking to put the Government in its place. What happened after is well documented but the two weeks of December was like a champagne bottle being uncorked.
@Derdaly: the thing is the schools were back too long at that stage for them to be a factor in that wave. No point blaming them for it when the reason was plain to see all across the country in the anti mask crew who would not be told what to do at the time!
@Joe_X: I don’t blame schools or students or funerals or any other groupings or events. I absolutely blame NPHET for appointing a man with no background in epidemiology or mathematical modeling as head of the group. His inability to outline the reasoning and evidential basis for decisions to date outside of expressing his feeling or fear of worst case scenarios is one of the main reasons why we have been so out of sync between restrictions and cases. The Christmas lockdown was too late and the lack of any relief in the last three months means there’s nothing left to give if there is another surge.
@Derdaly: I agree that if anything, they should not have raised the restrictions coming towards Christmas, but in reality what happened was the government calved under public pressure. The whingers and the moaners wanting their few days. You know who I mean, they are here every day crying about the restrictions. And we are still reaping the benefits of that stopid decision. Why was it a bad decision, because people cannot be trusted to do the right thing. After all, when the virus first came into the country, even after the warnings of what was after happening in Italy and Spain, well, I’m sure we all remember the scenes from Templebar the weekend before lockdown. Then after the summer lockdown people spread across the country on staycations, but hey, lets blame the schools.
@Joe_X: I know. Couldn’t believe it. And nobody told me it was fancy dress either. They were all dressed as charlatans.
@Robert Clifford: Jesus Robert, what’s the craic with this – are they not making up the numbers tonight, no?
Correction (as always). The death toll recorded as “related to” COVID-19 not “from” COVID-19 is… according to HSPC guidelines many of the deaths weren’t even positive for COVID-19. They were any nursing home deaths where >1 resident tested positive.
@MVB: Wrong.
As of March 29th, there were a total of 4,681 COVD-19 deaths, of these 4,415 (94%) were confirmed COVID-19 deaths (tested positive for the virus).
Probable COVID-19 deaths, which didn’t have a PCR test,account for 5.7% of all COVID-19 deaths (266 deaths).
Most “Probable COVID-19 deaths” occurred early last year because of a lack of testing capacity (remember we had to send PCR tests to Germany?).
By last May there were 253 probable deaths due to COVID-19, 16% of all COVID-19 deaths at the time. Since then probable deaths due to COVID-19 only increased by 13 to 266.
And deaths are based on Death Certificates that give a cause of death:
“A death due to COVID-19 is defined for surveillance purposes as a death resulting from a clinically compatible illness, in a probable or confirmed COVID-19 case, unless there is a clear alternative cause of death that cannot be related to COVID disease (e.g. trauma).”
If any are later found not to be due to COVID-19, the are removed from the figures and a denotification will be issued
https://www.thejournal.ie/how-are-covid-19-probable-deaths-counted-5102540-Jul2020/
@MVB: splitting hairs there a wee bit. You could say someone who got shot that their cause of death was related to the bullet holes in them too. It wasn’t the bullet that killed them, it was the damage it did on the way through
@David Jordan:
@David Jordan: where do you get your data from? My comment was based on the guidelines provided by the HSPC. https://www.hpsc.ie/a-z/respiratory/coronavirus/novelcoronavirus/surveillance/epidemiologyfrequentlyaskedquestions/
I think we need to scrap yesterday’s announcement and keep level 5 lockdown till everyone is vaccinated.
@Fran Proins: You make my heart smile Fran :)
@Ally Mc Culladgh: just trying to help the government with my sensible suggestions.
@Fran Proins: Fran loves a good lockdown :-)
@Dave O’Doherty: Fran is a complete Muppet…but he doesn’t need me to tell him that…right ya little attention seeking Baba u…
@Hear me now: Scooby ha ha ha ha ha I got your attention
As of yesterday I don’t actually care anymore. I’ve done everything asked of me for 12 months now. I don’t care anymore. All I want is to have a few jars in my back yard with someone. Anyone. I’m completely lost and I’ve reached my limits.
Down from 683 last Wednesday which is trending positively!
@thegreatdefector: Lower case numbers are so hot right now.
RIP. Now wait till next Wednesday to post the weekly number of cases.
Cases always low on the Wednesday when the planets are aligned and dogs walk backwards and cats bark….all seriousness, great to see numbers dropping, assume the early release is so the lads can head off early for Easter holidays, get the slabs and bbq in for the weekend if the weather stays nice
Can i make an appointment for the pub
@Lets be real: can I make an appointment for the hairdresser
@Mary Oliver: Theres a great idea, a pub with its own barber and hairdresser, they would clean up
One way to reduce the numbers, cut the day down by 4 hours lol
Wait for the spike when the kids get their shoes…
Good news numbers wise but also sad news for the people and families who passed.
If we can keep the numbers down as much as possible over the next 6 weeks we will be free.
So that seems the best thing to do. Stay Safe and gain our freedom back.
Otherwise its back to more lockdowns and who wants that.
@Gary Kearney: coming up on 6 weeks now and still no return to work of the CMO Dr Holohan, dilutes the title “Cheif” of his job description, and no answer from Government when I ask, shocking stuff and state in the biggest crisis in its history.
Yeah very early. Work must be getting done
Seasonal
Down from 683 last Wednesday
Close the schools till sept and let the cases drop and we could be fully opened by July
Nobody told NPHET the clocks went forward that is why the results are early
OMG
They appointments to buy shoes. ………
I understand the need for sport for kids but what happened before with GAA and the socialising in club houses and even golf club restaurants does make me feel we are moving to fast saying 15 can play and all the transport and parents mingling . We should learn from Christmas and listen to Nphet in total . Bottom dollar is ramp up the vaccination and let the ramp up be seen with time lines and people would accept and wait . We have to have majority vaccination or another awful round of fear . We need NPhet to be the lead in total . Nearly there but now is not the time to allow team sport
@Mary O Dwyer: as a chairman of a gaa club, I can assure you , that club houses in gaa clubs were not open, and only 3 cases could be contributed to gaa matches by NPet
Have a meaningful Christmas, no tracking no testing and a open door at the airports , and poor leadership at the top of government is were the problem lays
Why not post the amount of vaccines administered each day alongside this other news.
One has to dig very deep to get a figure !!
I’ll fill in for Damien today, OMG :)
Another bad day for the shinners, but nothing will top the witch saying they should reject the advise of the experts, which is the approach the mob agreed to in the North.
The worrying thing is that NPHET appear to be as power hungry as the government. Will they fade into obscurity? It’s hard to imagine that scenario. When will NPHET relinquish their power over the country? I can see their point! They have been running this country for the last year or so. When will they get a pay rise?
Cases will go up before May. Then we will be shutdown again. This varient is to contagious.
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