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THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD consider reinstating its advice for people to work from home where possible as the incidence of the virus continues to grow.
The incidence of Covid-19 is very high and increasing at a concerning rate, the Chief Medical Officer has told the Minister for Health.
In his latest letter to the Minister for Health, published this afternoon, Dr Tony Holohan said NPHET recommended that the government should consider extending the use of Covid certificates in settings where there is a “high risk of transmission through close contact or other activities”.
There should be ongoing communication with employers and employees around protective measures for people who do need to attend their workplace, he told Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly.
Public health experts are concerned that the number of patients with Covid-19 in hospital and in ICUs is remaining high as cases of the virus increase across all age groups up to 75-year-olds, with a particularly rapid rise among 19 to 24-year-olds.
Dr Holohan said that demand for Covid-19 tests is very high and increasing, with the positivity rate from community tests rising from 7% in late September to 18% in recent days.
“The impact of the recent booster vaccination on those aged 80 and older is evident with this being the only age group in which incidence is declining,” Dr Holohan said.
“The growth rate of cases is uncertain but is currently estimated at +3% to +5% per day,” he said.
The numbers of confirmed cases of Covid-19 in hospital and ICU remain high and, over recent days, there has been an increase in both the total number of hospitalised cases as well as the number of newly confirmed cases in hospital each day.
“Given the recent trajectory in terms of the disease profile, these indicators of severe disease may increase further in the coming weeks and will require ongoing close monitoring.”
He said the number of cases is putting a very significant additional burden on non-Covid healthcare services.
“Mortality related to Covid-19 is relatively constant at approximately 5 deaths per day, or 150 deaths per month. This may increase, given the very high case counts, although the impact of booster vaccination in older age groups should mitigate against this.”
The National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) advised the government to focus on communicating the public health measures that are in place and supporting adherence to those measures, as well as implementing some additional measures, including the change in advice regarding working from home.
NPHET plans to review the situation again in two weeks and give “further consideration to a range of issues, including the upcoming festive period”.
The 14-day incidence rate has continued to grow, rising from 466 cases per 100,000 people in the middle of October to 676 a week ago and to 952 as of Tuesday.
In the first week of November, 173 outbreaks of Covid-19 were recorded, including 20 new outbreaks in residential institutions and 10 in hospitals.
However, because HSE Public Health is prioritising the investigation of outbreaks in settings like nurshing homes, hospitals, and residential care, outbreaks in other settings may be less likely to be identified, the letter said.
34 outbreaks linked to schools were notified last week, but 32 of those occurred during May and June and were being notified retrospectively, it said. 24 outbreaks were reported in workplaces.
The full letter is published on the government website.
Below is an extract from the letter outlining the recommendations and advice that NPHET has sent to the Minister for Health.
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Nightclubs can stay open, not a problem. Big weddings, sporting events and concerts, not a problem. No testing in schools, not a problem. But people going to work will spread covid????
Absolute joke. They haven’t a clue what they are doing.
So they are not supporting Antigen testing, aka “snake oil”.
This crowd need to be out to pasture.
@a: Antigen testing as a first check solution is ok but 2 a week should catch the virus. They are not accurate enough for a single test decision maker.
they are 50% right but also 50% wrong.
@Gary Kearney: They were spot on for my household. Anyone who was positive and negative came back so with an antigen test.
The highest incidence is among children of school-age. Would the science not say that this is where the chain of transmission shoukd be stopped? Or just not palatable message?
@Pablo Rojas Coppari: I’m a teacher with covid and the HSE contacted my close contacts but not my school.
Last week we told vast majority cases were 5 to 12 year old, so clamp down on pub certs, hair dresser, gyms..office, All the places 5 to 12 year olds frequent -)
Working from home doesn’t suit everyone. We’re more than 18 months into the pandemic and for people without families and a long commute working from home is very isolating and is putting a strain on mental health
@Wiggit93: the long commute in gridlock and waste of time heading to cities also wrecks mental health. Talk about a placeholder term you can put into anything to try and make your argument.
@Paul Cunningham: Im not saying get rid of working from home but its more fair to give the option of either or and people can then do what suits them best. It keeps going back towards working from home as being the only option
@Wiggit93: Well use the time on your commute to work on keeping your health good phyisical and otherwise. exercise, meet people outdoors. It works wonders.
@Gary Kearney: remember only meet up with half of the people your planning to meet
It’s as plain as the nose on ones face that this shower haven’t got a clue what they’re doing or what they’re supposed to do. Just more making stuff up as they go along. Beggars belief.
@Robert Clifford: You do with the same they dont know what they are doing no matter what the numbers are. If it is going well it was not them that did it. If its bad like now it is because they have no clue of what they are doing.
Big SHOCKER, Nphet dont spread the virus, people do not following their advice.
NPHET low key admitting that the vaccines don’t work here. If they worked, no “reinstatement” of the work from home policy would be needed.
NPHET, The Government, and the HSE need to embrace therapeutics like Ivermectin that have been proven to work.
The vaccines are BUNK.
@Roger Pollack: Big Up Nphet, Kid?
And would they consider doing something about schools at all? Or are they being quite about that because the government find it too tricky and have decided to just ignore schools instead? NPHET are meant to be seperate to government so it does seem odd that they’re avoiding mentioning schools completely. Back to the ol’ “it’s the public’s fault” line of blame.
The cure is in Donnellys egg head it’s plain to see
@Keith O Hanlon: not a nice comment calling anyone names says a lot about
Are they going to put the support staff in offices back on PUP, cleaners and caterers etc ?
Totally agree, language like estimation and uncertainty is proof of that
Yds
The numbers have steadily increased since they have started backing the use of antigen testing so could it be that more cases are being caught because of people being able to test at home and so easily?
have your say