The Deputy Chief Medical Officer has said that while the start of the Covid-19 vaccination programme is a very significant milestone, vaccines will not positively impact the profile of the disease in Ireland in the coming weeks.
Dr Ronan Glynn said the number of cases reported yesterday was the highest since the start of the pandemic and there are now more people in hospital with Covid-19 than at any point since last May with admissions rising very quickly.
Meanwhile, the European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC) has said stringent measures are needed to control the virus.
Reducing the transmission of the new and more highly transmissible variant of Covid-19, which was identified earlier this month in the UK, and confirmed to be circulating here too, will require the implementation of more stringent social restrictions.
That is the advice contained in a special report about the matter published by the ECDC yesterday.
The report suggests that the viral load of the new variant infections may be four times higher resulting in increased viral shedding and increased transmissbility of the disease.
It warns of the high impact this will have on our health system in the coming weeks which it says could be reduced by stricter social interventions.
Latest coronavirus stories
Yesterday there were 1,546 confirmed cases of Covid-19 were reported here, a record daily high.
The seven-day incidence of the disease per 100,000 people has risen by 242% in two weeks.
The numbers seriously sick and being treated for the disease in hospital has risen very sharply too, up 68% since Christmas Day to 424 patents at 8pm last night.
Meanwhile, the number of people contacting GP’s to be referred for Covid testing is up 65% in the past week.
The Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan said: “As the vaccination programme rolls out, we each need to remember to remain vigilant to the ongoing risk of the spread of Covid-19 and follow the public health advice in our everyday lives. Following the public health advice is our only means to suppress the spread of the virus in the community.”

You may also like

Unbeatable Football is what they’re calling it at SuperSport and it’s easy to see why with the new season laced with rivalries, tension, tradition and more storylines than your favourite Hollywood thriller.

{“slug”:”football”,”name”:”Football”,”menu”:[],”topics”:[{“group_name”:”South Africa”,”topics”:[{“name”:”MTN8″,”slug”:”mtn8″,”parent_slug”:”mtn8″,”uri”:null,”hidden_tabs”:[“logs”]},{“name”:”DStv Premiership”,”slug”:”dstv-premiership”,”parent_slug”:”dstv-premiership”,”uri”:null,”hidden_tabs”:[]},{“name”:”GladAfrica Championship”,”slug”:”national-first-division”,”parent_slug”:”national-first-division”,”uri”:null,”hidden_tabs”:[“scorers”]},{“name”:”Bafana”,”slug”:”bafana”,”parent_slug”:”bafana”,”uri”:null,”hidden_tabs”:[“logs”,”top-scorers”]},{“name”:”DStv Diski Challenge Rewired”,”slug”:”dstv-diski-challenge”,”parent_slug”:”dstv-diski-challenge”,”uri”:null,”hidden_tabs”:[“top-scorers”]},{“name”:”Nedbank Cup”,”slug”:”nedbank-cup”,”parent_slug”:”nedbank-cup”,”uri”:null,”hidden_tabs”:[“logs”]},{“name”:”Carling Black Label Cup”,”slug”:”carling-black-label-cup”,”parent_slug”:”carling-black-label-cup”,”uri”:null,”hidden_tabs”:[“logs”,”top-scorers”]}]},{“group_name”:”Europe”,”topics”:[{“name”:”English Community Shield”,”slug”:”community-shield”,”parent_slug”:”community-shield”,”uri”:null,”hidden_tabs”:[“logs”,”top-scorers”]},{“name”:”UEFA Super Cup”,”slug”:”uefa-super-cup”,”parent_slug”:”uefa-super-cup”,”uri”:null,”hidden_tabs”:[“top-scorers”,”logs”]},{“name”:”English Championship”,”slug”:”english-championship”,”parent_slug”:”english-championship”,”uri”:null,”hidden_tabs”:[“top-scorers”]},{“name”:”Premier League”,”slug”:”premier-league”,”parent_slug”:”premier-league”,”uri”:null,”hidden_tabs”:[]},{“name”:”French Ligue 1″,”slug”:”france”,”parent_slug”:”france”,”uri”:null,”hidden_tabs”:[]},{“name”:”Italy Serie...