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ONE IN FOUR positive Covid-19 cases in Ireland last week were that of the UK variant, Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan said in a letter to government on Tuesday.
The letter to Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly was sent a day before Taoiseach Micheál Martin yesterday announced a raft of tighter Covid-19 restrictions, including the closure of schools for the remainder of this month.
The new restrictions come as Ireland experiences a daily growth rate of Covid-19 cases that is outpacing most of Europe.
Yesterday, it was confirmed that the number of people currently in hospital with Covid-19 eclipsed the previous peak of the pandemic in April.
In his letter to Donnelly on Tuesday, Dr Holohan warned that the epidemiological situation in Ireland has “deteriorated substantially” since the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) met on 30 December.
Dr Holohan warned that a number of separate independent analyses indicated that the new Covid-19 variant from the UK has “significantly increased levels of transmission compared to other variants in circulation”, and that it is potentially “in the region of 50% more transmissible”.
New research has shown that the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine protects against the UK and South Africa coronavirus variants.
Pfizer and researchers from the University of Texas carried out lab tests on the strains which were found to contain mutations including N501Y, an alteration in spike protein of the virus, which is a target for vaccines.
In a statement on Christmas Day, Dr Holohan confirmed that the new UK variant had been detected in Ireland.
Outlining further analysis since then in Ireland in his letter on Tuesday, Dr Holohan said that on the week to 3 January a total of 47 out 189 positive case samples (24.9%) were that of the UK variant.
Dr Holohan said that further analysis and sequencing will take place over the coming days to “establish the extent of the presence” of both the UK and South African variants in Ireland.
“It is anticipated that, from next week, a new PCR testing platform will facilitate a higher throughput screening approach for the UK variant,” Dr Holohan said.
Commenting on the currently Covid-19 situation in Ireland, Dr Holohan said that “there has been a further significant deterioration across all indicators of disease transmission and severity in the six days since NPHET last met”.
He said:
The situation is expected to deteriorate further in the coming days given the known time lags associated with the impact of measures.
Furthermore, latest information in relation to the presence of the UK variant here in Ireland and reports of its increased transmissibility from the UK are an emerging concern and point to the urgent need for as strict as possible adherence to the measures that have been mandated by government and for measures that are as strong as possible in relation to travel, particularly with regard to travel from the UK and South Africa.
The government yesterday confirmed that the current ban on travel from the UK and South Africa will continue until Saturday, at which point all passengers coming from those two countries will be required to be in possession of a negative PCR test that they acquired within 72 hours of travelling.
This new mandatory requirement will be in place until the end of the month when it will be reviewed.
Schools
In relation to schools, Dr Holohan said that the experience from September to December 2020 “has clearly demonstrated that schools are in themselves a safe environment”.
However, he continued: “The current epidemiological situation has deteriorated to a point where the significant levels of mobility and linked activity that the full reopening of schools would generate constitutes a very significant additional risk in the context of what are already unprecedented levels of disease transmission.”
Dr Holohan stressed that “it is important to state that this advice is not based on a changed assessment of the risks in relation to transmission levels in school”.
Rather, it is a reflection of the overall epidemiological situation and the absolute need now to reduce all opportunities for transmission.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin yesterday confirmed that schools will remain closed for the remainder of this month with a review to be open on when they will open.
Martin said in an address yesterday afternoon however that students in the final year of their Leaving Certificate cycle will be allowed to attend school for three days a week. The Taoiseach reaffirmed the government’s commitment to the State exams proceeding as planned this year.
The Taoiseach also said that special education should remain open “with protections in place”.
- Additional reporting by Press Association.
The EU moto is ‘Unity in Diveristy’. Not much Unity if less than half the member states can decide the course of the Union.
I think you said it all there Ryan
People voted for this in the Lisbon Treaty. So they haven’t a leg to stand on now.
It is all very fucked though.
Ah the big boys are becoming worried ……
The Treaty is the stumbling block…
the Dow Jones and The Wall St Journal???….
It is all coming ot now.
Time to get out of the Euro.
Stand up to these Economic Terrorists.
Once again, Europe is not suffering from a “Democratic Deficit”; it is however, suffering from a Dictatorial Surplus.
Again we have the usual build up just in case a referendum is needed. Already I can see the “sky is falling” arguments that will come from those lesser gifted members of the public who sit in the Dáil. But they have already told us we won’t need another bailout so we can happily vote against this treaty if it goes to a referendum, isn’t that right boys?
Pull on your green jersey Mark! Pull it on I say!!
“orders must be obeyed at all times without question”!
Mercozy will get what they want one way or another….we don’t have any true politicians within the government to tell them to go fuck themselves.
By the time the treaty is agreed and signed chances are that Sarkozy won’t be the president of France anymore. The French presidential election takes place in April/May this year and he is trailing the socialist candidate François Hollande in all of the recent opinion polls by quite a distance. I don’t think Hollande will have the same approach to this problem that Sarkozy has so it could be interesting to see what happens if the gets elected.
Barring something strange Merkel has until September next year to stay in power but the smaller party in her coalition government is being hammered in the polls at the moment so who knows what might happen.
Yes I saw that last night on twitter and the fear factor will now be cranked into panic mode.
If we don’t sign they eu will not fund us that appears to be the mantra.
Well mr and mrs EU if that’s the case then you leave us no choice but to declare we are paying nobody else.
The E U would never allow that as the confusion and panic it would put the markets in would be massive.
However Mr and Mrs E U give us a 66% write down and I am sure we could persuade Market.
There is a massive assumption that we have to dance to a tune but let’s get some people to go on the offensive now by saying we will delay NOT default on next weeks payment of 1.25 million and see what trees that rattles.
We cannot just sit back and take this.
The E U would have more respect for us if we fought back.
Very true. We have gutless politicians with no backbone. So much for a EU of equals.
Sorry 1.25 billion
While Merkosy struggle to maintain a united front on how to proceed, division rather than concensus is growing at national level in the rest of Europe. Considerable arm twisting will, no doubt, be applied.
Only Ireland has a chance of a referendum and we must not be bullied into accepting this treaty. This crisis cannot become a vehicle for crushing democratic principles and leading to even more instability.
Petition attached for those who believe this decision is too important to be left to government.
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/call-for-a-referendum-on-the-esm-treaty/
Finlands misgivings over Europes current direction.
http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-19/finland-derides-crisis-as-excuse-for-eroding-sovereignty.html
Draft treaty in full.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/9026142/The-EU-fiscal-draft-treaty-in-full.html
Let the scaremongering begin………We’ll go bust before next Christmas without it………….We’ll be kicked outta Europe………Merkel will eat your first born if we don’t sign. Please, save me the scare tactics.
Let’s scare them “ok guys we are declaring a default now fuck off to the insurers and get paid ”
It’s risky who stands to loose more e u system and world trade agreements or us?
Excellent Mark, couldn’t have said it better myself. However, prepare yourself for the inevitable bulls–t when they tell us they were taken “out of context” when they told us that lie.
A yes.The two teir europe is coming.Looks like those who dont sign up to this will be kicked to the kirb.
Which would mean we’d be away from the train wreck if we voted no to this thing, Can’t wait to see the majority No vote if there is a referendum I’d say it’ll be ultra-decisive.
Yep, proletariat, unite! Let’s build this utopia! The states that don’t want it are simply too stupid to think for themselves, so will will force onto them for their own good!
That first tweet doesn’t make any sense whatsoever.
The treaty can only come into force for countries that sign up for it. So it shouldn’t matter whether its 1 country, 5, 12 or 27 that sign it. The provision will only afffect those who agree to it.
For examply the UK has already said it won’t sign up for the treaty so therefore none of its rules will apply to the UK. The same would be true for any other country the didn’t sign up for it and a few of them are considering whether to do so or not.
The second tweet is fairly self-evident. If you want to avail of funds from the new mechanism then you agree to sign up to the rules that apply to it.
have your say