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IRELAND’S CHIEF MEDICAL officer has urged more people to wear face masks in public.
Dr Tony Holohan warned that the mission to suppress coronavirus is not yet accomplished.
His comments came on a day when Ireland moved to the second phase of its accelerated lockdown exit plan, with shops opening across the country and relaxations on the extent to which people can travel and socialise.
The coronavirus death toll in the country rose to 1,683 yesterday after a further four deaths were announced.
There were only nine new confirmed cases of the virus, the lowest daily tally since the early days of the outbreak in March.
There have been a total of 25,207 people infected since the emergency began.
The government advises the wearing of face masks on public transport, in retail outlets and other indoor settings where social distancing may prove challenging. It is only guidance and not mandatory.
Dr Holohan told a Covid-19 media briefing that he had been shopping himself at the weekend, wearing a mask, and was struck by the number of people who did not have one on.
“I did notice that the majority of people were not wearing masks, and it is our clear recommendation … that people in those settings should wear them,” he said.
“And maybe the shops and retail environments might take steps to remind the public of the importance of sticking to the advice we’re giving.”
He stressed that face masks were only an additional hygiene measure and were not a substitute for other precautions, such as hand washing and social distancing.
The CMO said there remained a reluctance to making the wearing of masks and face shields mandatory.
“I think that we can get further progress on the implementation of that guidance, and I think we can do better,” he said.
“And I think part of our reluctance in moving in the direction of mandatory is because we know the evidence isn’t absolutely firm and clear, the scientific consensus is not firm and clear in relation to face masks.
“But we believe it’s sufficiently robust for us to, when we think about that guidance, when we look at things from a precautionary point of view, for us to recommend the use of face masks as an additional measure in the settings in which we have identified – indoor settings, particularly retail and public transport.
We think it will be an important additional hygiene measure, but we are sensitive to the fact that some people cannot wear face masks for medical reasons and there are good reasons why that may well be the case. And so we’re stopping short of making it mandatory, but we keep all of this under review.
“But right now I don’t see us having a change but I think we will redouble our efforts and we’ll redouble our efforts to advise the public about the importance of wearing masks in public and in retail situations, which is why we keep stressing it.”
Dr Holohan welcomed the relatively low number of infections announced on Monday and acknowledged that the key indicators of Covid-19 remained on a downward trajectory.
But he cautioned: “Mission has not been accomplished.
“We have two more phases to go. We’re in the second phase now of the easing of restrictions.
“We’re only halfway through this.”
Re-opening
More people were able to return to work yesterday, including all those who work on their own or whose work could be done safely while staying two metres apart from others.
All retail stores were able to reopen, but opening times will be staggered to relieve pressure on public transport.
The easing of restrictions now allows people to travel up to 20km from their home, or further if they can remain within their own county.
Groups of up to six are able to interact indoors with social distancing, and groups of up to 15 are able to meet for outdoor sporting activities.
Work took place across the weekend at shops to prepare their premises for reopening, with social distancing markers being placed on the ground as well as signage.
In Dublin city centre, queues formed from before 10.30am yesterday, when many shops reopened.
Temporary public toilets opened in the city centre, as they remain closed in cafes, restaurants and shopping centres.
A long queue formed outside the Zara store on Dublin’s South King Street, with limited numbers allowed in at a time to accommodate social distancing.
There was a priority queue for older shoppers in several stores, to allow them to shop between 10am and noon.
Customers were told to use the hand sanitiser at the entrance and staff in most shops wore gloves and masks.
A group of friends from Dublin were among the first to enter the Zara store.
Sarah Keane, 17, said: “We weren’t anxious about going into the shops again after all these weeks. We have loads of hand sanitiser and gloves with us and the shops aren’t allowed to be packed.”
In Ballymun in Dublin, hundreds of people joined the queue to get into the Ikea store, which stretched far beyond the store.
People who are 70 or older, or are medically vulnerable, were able to have visitors in their homes from yesterday, with social distancing observed and the wearing of masks advised.
Up to 25 people are now allowed to attend funerals.
Public libraries are able to reopen, as are playgrounds and outdoor camps for children, provided there are no more than 15 people involved, and some elite sports training will be possible.
Horse and greyhound racing resumed without spectators.
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So after years of them hiring managers and accountants to fix the HSE, they’ve finally realised that maybe, just maybe, it might be a better idea to hire more frontline staff?
And we’re supposed to be impressed by people who run the country on 6 figure salaries finally figuring out what a 5year old could’ve told them?
@Bryan Kelly: next they need to get rid of the deadwood in the HSE and then he’s talking.
This is little more than spending more money in the HSE
@John S: I never mentioned anything about spending more money?
We spend more of our GDP on health than any other EU country and it’s in the toilet, because our politicians are incompetent gombeens. They’re a bunch of pencil pushers who believe they can fix all the problems so they believe pencil pushers can fix all problems.
The biggest problem we have in this country is the near worship of the white collar sector. Teachers and nurses get reduced to minimum wage but it’s impossible for the government to cut the salaries of unnecessary or incompetent managerial and admin staff, or to just fire them because of contracts? I’m not buying it, the government has shat all over contracts and even the law when it suited them, they just don’t wanna go after their buddies in admin.
Rot always starts from the top down. We need proper accountability for our politicians. When they can just be shuffled to another cabinet position with no loss of earnings every time they make a balls of things and destroy a public service, what incentive is there for them to do a good job?
We hold the people running the country to lower standards than we do people earning minimum wage in McDonalds.
I’d love to know where exactly the 1200 staff before the end of year are gonna come from !!!!
@Alexandra Ni Longain: University probably… nurses returning home….
@Alexandra Ni Longain: Out of thin air obviously.
@Matthew Kanoff: nurses don’t want to return home. Why would you come back to earn less, work infinitely harder in a tougher environment .
@Alexandra Ni Longain: my sentiments exactly. They won’t get 1200 nurses. No one wants to go work for them.
@Alexandra Ni Longain: Unfortunately we’re doomed to be back here again in another 12 months when it becomes obvious to all but those negotiating these agreements that there isn’t 1,200 nurses willing to work in the HSE.
As I type this I’m aware that most hospitals are currently recruiting nursing staff abroad, even as about 1,200 Irish nurses will graduate from universities this year. Isn’t that an amazing figure? They won’t, however, slot into the promised jobs negotiated in this agreement, the majority will follow the 1,200 who graduated every other year, they’ll emigrate.
What needs to be addressed, and isn’t, is why we have such difficulty finding nurses, why our graduate nurses would rather emigrate than work in their own Health Service? Why the turnover of nursing staff in our ED Departments, ICU and Dialysis departments has gone beyond crisis point and virtually every hospital has positions left unfilled.
An empty promise to pluck 1,200 additional nurses out of thin air, “Harry Potter” style is, frankly, condescending, insulting and just deferring the problem again.
@Alexandra Ni Longain: india and philipines. have you not been in the hospitals here the last few years?
@Arthur Wells: Staff from these countries, and more, like Poland, Spain etc. are filling some of the empty nursing positions in our hospitals, yet still many more are left unfilled.
This still doesn’t answer where an additional 1,200 nursing positions are going to come from if there are already dozens of unfulfilled positions in every hospital in the country, especially in specialist roles. Nor does it answer the question of why so many nursing graduates every year would prefer to emigrate than work in our Health Service, why so many specialist roles are unfilled, why so many young, inexperienced, unqualified staff are being shoved into ED Departments because there is nobody else.
@Jed I. Knight: Because the economy is tanked here, public infrastructure sucks, houses prices are through the roof and there is no great career prospects here.
Sadly, this would result in a lot of ambitious young doctor and nurse graduates who see the writing clearly on the wall and are emigrating en masse whenever possible and able to better pastures (i.e. Australia and the likes).
So the problem is actually multifold and involve both the hospitals and the wider country: how to create a conducive career and economic environment to retain these talent and not let it drain elsewhere?
That’s one strike the nation can do without
They always threaten strike but never strike…..it’s the same every time they ballot the members
@Paddy Flynn: yes but it’s the one strike where the members deserve what they’re looking for and more. Nurses talk about striking but don’t because they care too much and don’t want to let their patients or colleagues down.
@Elizabeth W: One of the few groups that would get mass support if they did decide to take industrial action. Respect to all in the profession. I don’t know how you do it!
@Elizabeth W: nurses care too much about their patients? These are the same nurses whose solution to A & E overcrowding was 2 extra days holidays?
Nursing unions are just as self entitled as any other union.
@Soccer T’s: I have a nurse friend who has 4 kids and took 4 months off for “back trouble for 3 of those kids during pregnancy. She does it cos she gets paid leave. They all do it she says. Nurses know how to milk the system. They aren’t saints like some make out they are
@Sinead Hanley: feck off! What do you know about nursing on the front line? I’ve been nursing 22 years and have only been sick when I had 2 hope replaced! Get your facts straight. Most nurses go sick when they need to. Besides, we only get 4 months sick pay, hardly worth milking it…
@Ann-Marie Cronin: Don’t you know that every idiot these days are experts on what people in the public sector do.
@John S: You’re preaching to the converted there with regards unions. Nurses do care about their patients and until you’ve sat down and spoken to an utterly exhausted (physically & mentally) nurse you can’t argue otherwise. They work upto 13/14 hrs a day sometimes with no breaks. The extra hours they do are done free of charge because good luck to getting time back. There could be two nurses and a carer looking after up to 30 pts and their safety concerns fall on deaf ears. The HSE say they’ll hire more 1200 nurses, they won’t find 1200 nurse that want to work for them. Until they sort out the top, they’ll never be able to fix it at ward level.
@Elizabeth W: It’s not just the top that they need to sort out unfortunately. At some point nurses will have to accept some personal responsibility for the position that they find themselves in. The people who work on the frontline are fully familiar with the unsafe working conditions, the years of broken promises and the ongoing difficulties with recruitment and retention. In voting by a 82% margin to accept this deal, the majority also think that they are going to conjure up these extra 1,200 nurses.
@Elizabeth W: I agree with you. Nurses are the heart and soul of our struggling health service. I agree nurses deserve better albeit without a strike being necessary. There are too many agency nurses now and the state won’t fund enough long term nursing jobs.
@Elizabeth W: try being an intern doctor with all the same problems but less pay than nurses and have to take care of multiple wards while working more than 24 hours a day at least twice a week.
I have to admit, as health ministers go, I like this guy. At least he’s trying to tackle the issues. That is definitely the first positive comment I’ve made about any politician in the last 2 years at least!
@Soccer T’s: to be fair you’re not the sharpest tool in the box when your believing FG on everything
Crisis averted? 1,200 nurses and midwives to be hired by end of year…
That is because 2000 will leave here to go to Saudi Arabia or the UK? We never get more nurses as we only get new nurses to replace the ones that left but that is never said because it would tarnish the false belief of progress?
Can The Journal revisit this story at the end of the year?!!
I agree with Paul. Please review this story at the end of the year, Journal. Have we reached 1200 and how many are Irish nurses? If our nurses leave to find better pay and working conditions while their former positions are taken by foreign nationals, the core issue has not been resolved. I hope this “plan” has more success than the “plan” the “plans” instituted to solve Dublin’s housing shortage, Mr. Varadaker (sp?).
This is all “hot air” speak, if the health service is to work the top management and pen pushers needs to be tackled, otherwise throwing good money after bad..
If we could replace every unnecessary manager and general backroom staff member for want of a better word with a doctor or nurses we have the best health system in the world. I was in the regional hospital visiting a friends last week and the amount of admin staff for want of a better word was unreal. Time for compulsory redundancy in our health system of staff like this, but we all know that’s not going to happen because in effect our health system is set up to facilitate the staff who work in these hospital rather than the patients.
@mickmc: did you ask the Admin staff what they were doing?. You’re just a big radio listening sheep….
@Alan McCartney: Yeah…all those admin staff. Saving lives and everything.
Managerial and admin positions rose 10% during austerity with a 3% decrease in frontline staff.
Maybe take your own advice and stop just listening to whatever Enda and co tell you.
@Alan McCartney: Who do you think I am? The Queen of England. “And what do you do?” They wonder around there all day every day with a clip board in their hand basically getting in the way of the doctors and nurses. I’m not suggesting they’re not doing what they’re being paid to do, the question is, is the job they do actually necessary.
Think that they are simplifying it a little..even if wages /allowances etc are increased..the cost of living here is still too high..plus the sheer stress of frontline nursing,without the necessary backup measures..lets do a fact check in 12 mths time to see how many positions have been filled..or even when the same positions are advertised..being cynical…I expect that they wont be advertised until the very last moment …
Harris said that? Must be true so…..
Get ready for an influx of 1,200 nurses and doctors from eastern european countries, philipines and India…
Sad that only people from poorer countries are willing to stay and work here.
@Arthur Wells: What a horrible comment. I can tell you when I was very Ill in hospital and in massive pain that they couldn’t give me any more pain medication for it was a lovely nurse from the Philippines who held my hand at night when I was wore down by the pain all day and couldn’t cope with it anymore. It was also Philippine nurses who gave my son excellent care in the neonatal unit in Holles street when he was born.
@Carina Clarke: your sentimental account is all great and well but the fact of the matter is that Irish trained health care professional graduates are leaving and the spaces are filled up by people from countries where the origin of their qualifications are dubious at best.
This is a short term fix but will have long term adverse ramifications. Give it 10 years and this will change the work culture and lower the standard as a whole.
There is a reason why United States, U.K and Australia doesnt recognize their qualifications, but for some reason Ireland thinks short term lowers its bars just because there are spaces to fill.
While welcome news if followed through I suspect they will also hire a raft of new managers to maintain the ratio of indians and chiefs, I hope I’m wrong.
They don’t get it. Nobody wants to work here. The only reason inmo members voted yes because if we didn’t there’d be zero chance of pay deals going forward. Next step is to align nurses salaries with physiotherapists and occupational therapists. Maybe then, they might have some chance of keeping and hiring staff nurses.
If we didn’t pay agencies €250 million per year we cud hire 5,000 nurses and give them 50k per year. If we didn’t give corporate legal firms millions per year we cud hire legal people to work for the State and still save loads and if we did away with bullshit tendering rules we cud save billions!
@Alexandra Ni Longain:
Exactly! The pay and conditions are still rubbish!
@Paddy Flynn:
Agency nurses provide an invaluable service in hospitals. The issue is not that the state won’t fund enough long term nursing jobs. The posts are there. Nurses don’t want them.
have your say