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PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICIALS have confirmed 4,163 new cases of Covid-19 in Ireland this afternoon.
As of 8am today, 545 hospital patients have Covid-19, including 117 who are in ICU.
Yesterday, 3,793 new cases were confirmed while 578 Covid-19 patients were in hospital, of whom 117 were in ICU.
The National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) said yesterday that there had been 55 deaths notified to them in the past week, bringing Ireland’s total to 5,707.
Deaths related to Covid-19 are being announced on a weekly basis.
“The additional efforts to adhere to the public health measures we have all been taking over the last few weeks are having a positive impact. We are beginning to see stabilisation in a range of key indicators of incidence of Covid-19,” Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan said.
“Stabilisation is happening at too high a level. The current high incidence is driven by the Delta variant, which, coupled with the presence of the Omicron variant, means that the trajectory of the disease remains uncertain,” Dr Holohan said.
He noted that in the last seven days, 478 people with Covid-19 were admitted to hospital with 46 people admitted to ICU.
“We know that public health measures we are all familiar with work to limit transmission of Covid-19 in the community. Choosing to follow the public health advice is difficult, particularly at this time of year, however, is it the key to changing the trajectory of the disease,” Dr Holohan said.
“Please continue to wash your hands regularly, keep your distance, choose outdoors instead of indoors for meeting up and open windows indoors, use good respiratory hygiene, reduce your social contacts and wear your mask if is recommended for you,” he added.
Dr Holohan said that “in the over 75 age group, where people have been taking up the offer of a third dose of a Covid-19 vaccine in high numbers, we are seeing significant reductions in the incidence of disease”.
“This is another positive development and further evidence that getting a third dose of Covid-19 vaccine helps to protect from the most severe effects of Covid-19. I urge everyone, when your turn comes, take the vaccine that is offered to you as soon as it is available,” he said.
With reporting by Jane Moore
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Go out and enjoy your Christmas parties with your friends and panto’s with the kids.
@a: it’s not that easy!
@a: such a responsible attitude to ignore public health advice during a pandemic where a new variant has emerged
@a: absolutely. the most festive time of the year is around the corner. go out and enjoy it.
@Stephen Kearon: YAWN
@Stephen Kearon: I mean, I plan on enjoying my first ever work Christmas party next week. Never bothered with them before.
This year, though, it’s virtual, so I don’t have to leave the house. That’s a win in my book!
I was unemployed last year, so don’t know if there was a similar thing last year.
@Stephen Kearon: Darwinism at its finest. Maybe the herd needs to be culled before immunity can can kick in.
@David O Neill: “Oh yes it is!” “Oh no it isn’t!” “Where’s Tony gone? Has anyone seen Tony?” “He’s behind you!”
@Steve: Starting with the self-righteous.
@Stephen Kearon: could be said too ignoring government and nphet madness
@Stephen Kearon: You dont have to go out if you don’t want to, be safe, stay at home…The rest of us will take the gamble & go out & try get on with our lives.
@a: Who put a letter in charge??
@Stephen Kearon: like the responsible attitude the Government have had to recommendations on HEPA filters? Or the recommendations on antigen testing? Or the recommendation on contact tracing in schools?
@Stephen Kearon: When you have to use the loo Kearon, do you climb out from under your bed and go to the loo or are you making use of a chamber pot when you’re hiding under there? Just curious.
@a: Ah Jaysis, not another faceless account with their usual social media medical degree in hand, a true “pAtRiOt” no doubt, embarrassing.
@Stephen Kearon: like what? Masks don’t work or mandatory masks? Schools are safe or not safe? Antigen tests don’t work or they do? They contradict their own advice all the time. I wouldn’t believe their radio not a mind the sh.ite they spew on a daily basis.
@a: completely misinformed.
Have a bad fall, suffer a concussion and end up in the ICU but test positive for covid by PCR test = 1 patient with covid in ICU.
Stay in overnight for a medical procedure and test positive for covid by PCR test = 1 patient in hospital with covid.
But that’s not how most of you see it, is it?
@Bar O’Choc: this is true. People go into hospital for other reasons, and are tested and get a positive test. PCR tests are not questionable at all.
@Bobby Jones: you and Mr O’Choc are full of cräp yourselves .
@Bobby Jones: In fairness, to a person catching it on a trolley bed, it’s probably the last thing they needed on top of whatever else ails them. Sure aren’t they the least fit to fight it off?
@Bar O’Choc: statistically unlikely I’d say.
@Bar O’Choc: and when in hospital or ICU and testing positive for covid then you take up the same resources as everyone else with covid, i.e. isolation and spread prevention, it makes no difference if you just stubbed your big toe.
Of course some see the covid numbers in hospital as people being sick with covid and we know that not everyone in hospital with covid is being treated for covid or a related issue. But this is immaterial to hospital management as all covid positive patients require the same isolation protocol.
In fact there is no treatment for covid so all hospitals can do is provide oxygen and monitoring and ventilation (invasive and bipap) should it be needed, Oxygen can be provided in home or nursing home or other care facilities but hospitals can help with any underlying conditions can covid might aggravate.
As an aside, I have read that 90% of people who have died with covid did not die in hospital, which supports the idea that many patients are not suitable for hospital or ICU. I cannot vouch for that figure but some people are just not suitable for ICU so it is possible that many are treated in nursing homes.
Form a hospital resource point of view whether a patient just has covid or is being treated for covid is immaterial. We tend to, myself included, assume that the 117 covid cases in ICU are there to be treated for covid or a covid triggered related illness, but some may be ill for other reasons and be in ICU… so the true count of how many are in ICU because of covid may be a little lower. The same applies to cases in hospital, but we need more “inside” information on the medical condition of patients before we can see how many. However any patient attending hospital that is covid positive is discharged (either from A&E or as an inpatients) to isolate at home or in City West unless they absolutely need to be in hospital – so many of the covid cases retained in hospital are people who are seriously ill.
@john smith iv: about 40% actually are non covid hospital admissions
Next 2 weeks critical
@Alison Maguire: since we got covid it’s been critical and devided the country that’s nothing new irish people can’t agree on anything
@Richarddoherty: yes we can
@This time its personable!: no we can’t.
@This time its personable!: on what I’ll try one thing that fine gael fianna fail government have been corrupt and in..mpent
Foxtrot Oscar.
@Mark Malone: here here. I’m sorry I never bought Pfizer shares. Missed the boat on that one.
Hospital cases seem to be falling. Lets have a good christmas!.
@Stephen Nix: I’m just glad we’re allowed to say Happy Christmas again. Sick of all that woke sh!+e.
@Vonvonic: You can say ‘Woke Shite’ on here seemingly…
@William Tallon: 8.6 on my insultometer…. oh but not ìf you use capitals.
@Vonvonic: when were we ever not allowed to say Happy Christmas? Cop yourself on
@Gerry McCaughey: I know. It’s so rediculous; it could almost be a joke. You shot the load there Gerry.
Get vaccinated, don’t fail the IQ test!
@Johnny Rotten: absolutely, everyone please vaccinate. I have no desire to learn the entire Greek alphabet.
@Stephen Kearon: vaccination in Ireland has nothing to do with new variants. we have 90 odd % vaxxed. it’s whats happening in poorer countries is the issue.
@Macca1986: And some of the less poor ones too in fairness.
@Macca1986: a new variant could easily emerge here too.
@Vonvonic: I know I’ve never heard such waffle, they are just using kids now to get there anti everything agenda across shameful
The pandemic of the flawed PCR test. A quote from other doctors with an alternative view from the narrative.
@Stephen Grehan: Yes, I’m sure all the extra people in hospitals and ICUs the world over are faking it, the doctors and nurses are in omit too I’d say.
@Stephen Grehan: Do these doctors with alternative views use alternative facts as well?
@Stephen Grehan: tinfoil hat man
4897 positive Cases. 34,654 tests. 7 day positive rate 14.3%
@Bobby Jones: already about 1300+ cases held back in 2 days.
@Bobby Jones: thanks Anna
@murt de murty: If you don’t like the stats from the hse, just pass by.
@Bobby Jones: Why do you reckon there is such a disparity beteen lab results and confirmed cases that nphet announce for the past month or so? Is it down to incompetence, or do they not have enough staff to type it into their new spreadsheet, or are they purposely holding back numbers so they can scare us all with the bigger numbers and then advise the government that we need new restrictions ? I don’t know myself, but if an entire countries economy is getting damaged by the restrictions when are we ever going to live with covid and accept it as just one more risk of living. It’s going to be around for years and we can’t keep locking down and destroying peoples livelyhoods.
@Bobby Jones: OK Anna.
@murt de murty: I miss Anna
High COVID-19 vaccination rates were expected to reduce transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in populations by reducing the number of possible sources for transmission and thereby to reduce the burden of COVID-19 disease. Recent data, however, indicate that the epidemiological relevance of COVID-19 vaccinated individuals is increasing. In the UK it was described that secondary attack rates among household contacts exposed to fully vaccinated index cases was similar to household contacts exposed to unvaccinated index cases (25% for vaccinated vs 23% for unvaccinated). 12 of 31 infections in fully vaccinated household contacts (39%) arose from fully vaccinated epidemiologically linked index cases. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanepe/article/PIIS2666-7762(21)00258-1/fulltext?s=08#%20
@Juliet Kelly: vaccines are no good after a few months.
I never quite understood why we are 2 years into this global pandemic umpteenth wave and variant. Why the world never had a concerted effort of a 4 week lockdown all borders all flights just close everything and stifle it out. Yet we are still faffing about and the untold damage it has done to economies.
@Scott Coulter: Can you honestly not understand why that will never happen. Or do you think the entire world can just stock up their fridge and hibernate for a month ?
@Alan Byrne: the Chinese have pretty much done that. And we got down to known 5 cases in June 2020 after the first and only real lockdown. It might have worked but would also take rolling regional lockdowns after the main lockdown. Too late now.
@john smith iv: The Chinese were welding apartment doors shut. No thanks.
How come it’s always roughly the same figure within a few hundred each day….??
@PHB090: because of the positivity rate.
Please display a four week chart for the figures. It’s kind of meaningless throwing out these single points of data every day. Include a line capping hospital bed and ICU capacity or a grayed out curtain over the range of possible capacities.
Imagine deleting comments promoting a protest to protect children?lowest of the low
@Happy: Good comment, but you couldn’t resist the last sentence could you. You naturally want other people to understand your position, but you want to be flippant and general about others. Think about it.
@Vonvonic: Original post was taken down and Happy’s response. I would have enjoyed the reactions.
50 cars waiting in a queue at a local drive-in testing centre today, but to be fair the staff were super efficient and surprisingly positive. You have to have a certain disposition to give PCR tests all day, every day, hundreds of times a day, and not get cross, upset, afraid, or switch or mess up anyone’s results!
We will most likely be a few of the 4,000 positive cases reported over the weekend. No idea where we got it from, but it seems to be everywhere so probably inevitable.
The next ten years are critical.
have your say