Restriction on households numbers recommended

NPHET met amid concern about the high incidence of the virus appearing in some counties.

NPHET recommends to Government that a maximum of six people from a single household be allowed visit another home nationwide.

The National Public Health Emergency Team met earlier today, also recommending that no other counties will see a change in their restrictions level this week. It means that no counties other than Dublin and Donegal, which are presently at Level 3, will have additional restrictions imposed.

The rule on a maximum of six people from a single household currently applies in counties at Level 3 lockdown, but up to now six people from three different households could visit another home.

NPHET met amid concern about the high incidence of the virus appearing in some counties.

Yesterday the Health Protection Surveillance Centre were notified of 429 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. There has now been a total of 36,155 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ireland.

There was one additional death also.

The new case update was valid as of Tuesday midnight.

The 429 included 189 cases are in Dublin, 60 in Cork, 31 in Donegal, 28 in Galway, 18 in Kildare, 15 in Wicklow, 15 in Clare, 12 in Limerick, 9 in Meath, 8 in Louth, 7 in Cavan, 7 in Longford, 6 in Laois, 5 in Offaly, 5 in Westmeath, with the remaining 14 cases in 8 counties.

Some 203 of them were men, and 226 are women, with 65% are under 45 years of age.

A total of 45% are confirmed to be associated with outbreaks or are close contacts of a confirmed case, and 77 cases identified as being the result of community transmission.

The HSE is working to identify any contacts the patients may have had to provide them with information and advice to prevent further spread.

Dr Ronan Glynn, Acting Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health, said that yesterday evening there were 130 people with COVID-19 in hospital – 15 admitted in just the past 24 hours. “Recently we asked everyone to half their social contacts. Reducing the number of people that we meet  - and engaging safely with a small core group - remains the cornerstone of our collective effort to reduce the spread of this virus and its impact on our health and the health of the people that we care about.”

Dr Colm Henry, Chief Clinical Officer, HSE, added: “Community transmission represents the greatest threat to patients and staff in hospitals and residential care facilities. When you are making plans to meet friends and socialise this week, take a minute to consider our healthcare workers, who have been at the frontline since the beginning of the pandemic, in hospitals, in nursing homes and in our homes, caring for those who are ill and those who are the most vulnerable to this highly infectious virus.”

He went on to state that every time people wear a facemask, wash hands, cover their coughs and keep distance, their actions are “not only preventing the transmission of the virus, but you are also protecting older and vulnerable people and healthcare workers.”

Professor Philip Nolan, Chair of the NPHET Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group, stated that the R number is now between 1.2 and 1.4. “While we are cautiously optimistic about Dublin, we have seen relatively high case numbers in the last few days, and it will be a number of days yet before the pattern is clear. Case numbers are clearly rising across the country. We need to remain vigilant, to ensure we do not lose the ground that we have gained across the capital city since we moved to Level 3, and to ensure we do not see further deterioration outside the capital.”

Dr Breda Smyth, Director of Public Health, HSE West, further asked that people of all ages “play their part” to suppress this virus. “It is important for everyone to stay connected, but you need to do this in a safe way, at a distance, and virtually as much as you can. If you have symptoms, stay at home, call your doctor to arrange for a test and let the people that you live with know about it as soon as possible. If you find out that you are close contact, please come forward for testing. Remember that COVID-19 is a highly infectious disease that can have a devastating impact on your health at any age.”