Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
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.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Ah sure, fly across to Belfast or Derry and stroll on down! Be grand!
@Sean Reddin: ULSTER SAYS NO (BORDER DOWN THE IRISH SEA)!
@Sean Reddin: it’s time Holohan got the sack from NPHET now, I mean does anyone ever pay for their sins in this country. It’s completely unacceptable to see him strutting around as if he owns the country and yet he was up to his kneck in the cervical check scandal, those affected by this must be going off their heads to see the likes of him in charge now, end this madness, he needs to be sacked now
@Sean Reddin: eh maybe I was dreaming this but I thought I saw the Government actually arranging flights for ‘stranded’ Irish people at UK airports, to bring them home for Christmas!?!?
@Paul O Neill: What did he have to do with Cervical Check ? Other thañ suggesting to Simon Harris that he let him do the review, which Harris declined, I don’t really recall him being mentioned.
@Paul O Neill: Thought he insisted earlier in the week that it wasn’t the U.K variant. Wish they could make up their minds or even know what they are doing.
@Franny Ando: based on the samples checked that was accurate
@Tommy Roche: ” I strongly advise you do not commit to a cervical review. Holohan to Harris.
@Sean Reddin: no different when in february they cancelled the italy ireland game but let the flights of supporters come on in. Inept to the higest degree
@Paul O Neill: He wasn’t responsible for Cervical check, wouldadvise you read up on that before making a bizzare blanket statment like that. NPHET’s job is to advise the government, they warned the government in NO UNCERTAIN TERMS that opening teh country up in the six weeks leading up to christmas would lead to…this…they were ignored. In fact almost every one of Tony’s predictions have come true, his advice is sound but the government either ignore him or implement a half-assed variant for fear of upsetting the “free market” and the tinfoil hat brigade that make up part of their voting base (we as a people have established we are incapable of making common sense choices and thus we need a firm hand to enforce them – that’s where FFG should have stepped in), so I guess we’re just going to keep having 6K + cases a day, ICUs overrun, utter chaos in the hospitals and possibly even mass graves like they did in Italy and the US back in April if we can’t get this under control.
But please tell us more about how this is Tony Holohan’s fault.
And they want to open schools for LC a joke
@Paula Cloherty: it is a joke. They have given out to 18-24 year olds for the high incidence rate in that age bracket. How old do they think leaving cert students are? Needlessly risky and punishes the LC students who may have no choice but to stay home due to underlying illness or sharing a house with a vulnerable person.
@Laura Walsh: if you check facts medion age of positive cases is 36 not 18
Government are 100% responsible for this
@Dannys Dentures: no people are
@Dannys Dentures: The people, retailers, vintners were all crying out for a “normal Christmas”. Now all of a sudden people are changing their tune in hindsight.
@Brian Carr: neither are 100% responsible and neither are blameless. We are in this situation due to both government incompetence and public behaviour.
@Dannys Dentures: yes it’s all a conspiracy. The Republicans won the race for the presidency in the US also.
@Dannys Dentures: No it’s a virus that seems to spread very easily and even if you wear face masks and do everything they ask you can still get it
@Brian Carr: The government lifted restrictions with 400+ cases per day.
@alan hickey: a bit of sense, finally.
@alan hickey: this strain originated in the uk from which travel was facilitated by the government
@Dannys Dentures: people are. Obviously a large cohort of adults in this country cannot follow rules
And they want to open schools for leaving certs its a joke
@Paula Cloherty: the Leaving Cert Students must not be able to get Covid19 joke ..
And there he was last week blaming it solely on human behaviour …
@Critical Thinker: But it is human behaviour.
@Critical Thinker: For someone called “Critical Thinker”, you’re not really thinking. Previously, it was only showing up in 10% of samples. Now, it’s showing up in 25% of samples. Long story short: This surge in cases occurred because an awful lot of people threw caution to the wind during December. The new strain is only becoming a problem now.
@Critical Thinker: one week is a long long time during a pandemic, as the drastic increase in case numbers have illustrated. That’s why there are daily briefings and not weekly briefings. If the spread is not down to human behaviour then what is it down to?
@This Interests Me:
The sample size is a joke, how many cses had we during that period and they check 189 cases out of 11 or 12000 cases, where did the 169 cases come from, all in Dublin, it should be at least 1000 cases with the cases taking from all parts of the country
@Declan Sweeney: the sample was random and it was primarily from community transmission cases. If the variant was the main cause for this surge, it would have shown up more than 10%.
@This Interests Me: Nothing do with the fact that this new variant is reportedly more transmissible then?
No, let’s just blame eachother instead. Sure, some people don’t follow the guidelines. I think we’ve established that by now. Is this small minority solely responsible for the increased spread of the virus?
If so, what do you suggest we do about it? Complaining about it on the Journal obviously hasn’t had the desired effect.
@This Interests Me:
How if thwy test 189 cases out of10,000 positive cases, if they came from all over the country it would be better.but not big enough
If click and collect is close, then close the coffeeshops
@Tomo: sure you can grab a take away pint and stand on the street with your mates, but close click and collect, sound logic there!
All the data that suggests schools are safe is based on the original strain of covid, the new strain is 50-70% more transmissible.
Open the schools, but use politicians as hall monitors.
And who’s to blame for that. Government are.
If they had a pair at the beginning of this and closed all avenues into the country it could have been stopped.
But no the didn’t have a pair and still blaming everyone and everything except themselves.
And how did it get here?
@Darren Carroll: internet
@Darren Carroll: on flights from UK
THAT’S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOUR COUNTRY IS RUN BY MUPPETS
@Pauline Fedigan: THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN PEOPLE CANNOT DO WAHT IS ASKED OF THEM
I like my brits like t1ts. Out.
Jesus it’s rampant here so
What about if we say an aul prayer? Maybe god will help us.
Notice no data on cases associated with travel lately and the horsey crowd are still been allowed travel to likes of ascot and other race meetings around UK, nothing was. Learned after Cheltenham
And yet they’ll tell us travel wasn’t a factor
On 04/01/2021 The US Food and Drug Administration alerted Health Care Providers that there was an elevated risk of “False Results” Cov-19 Test .While back on the 14th December the WHO admitted the RT-PCR tests produce false positives, specifically, “high cycle thresholds”. So why is Holohan and nphet continuing to use discredited PCR testing methods?Recap on PCR testing methodology:The ‘ultimate standard” Sars-Cov-2 tests are based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR). PCR works by taking nucleotides – tiny fragments of DNA or RNA – and replicating them until they become something large enough to identify. The replication is done in cycles, with each cycle doubling the amount of genetic material. The number of cycles it takes to produce something identifiable is known as the “cycle threshold” or “CT value”. The higher the CT value, the less likely you are to be detecting anything significant In the above article the CMO Dr.Holohan statesIn his letter to Donnelly that the “epidemiological situation in Ireland has “deteriorated substantially” since the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) met on 30 December”.. Yet he was aware of the WHO memo from 2 weeks earlier (14/12/2020). And, seeminglyoverlook it completely. Why, oh why, is this omitted.? As it could be misconstrued, especially when a little further down, he states..”New research has shown that the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine protects against the UK and South Africa corona virus variants” However, we also know Health care providers have died within days of been administered the stated vaccine here and here
If we assume our CMO is not incompetent as is suggested by some comments here, then a much more sinister explanitation comes into sight.
have your say