90% of COVID-19 cases in Ireland are Delta variant; Vaccinated people are also warned to be cautious
DUBLIN: The Department of Health says Delta variant accounts for 90% of all coronavirus cases in Ireland.
The Chief Executive of the Health Service Executive said the potential impacts of the variant will continue in August and September. Paul Reid expressed hope that more safety could be achieved through the vaccine program.
The threat posed by the Delta variant, according to Mr Reid, is the “last big hurdle to cross” in the fight against COVID-19. He was speaking at the executive’s weekly update on the pandemic.
Two-thirds of the adult population in Ireland has already been vaccinated. The HSE CEO said the disease could be brought under control if the country continued to make progress in the vaccination programme, increased testing, and people did the right thing in accordance with health guidelines.
The five-day moving average of cases is up 95% from the previous week, while the seven-day moving average is up 93%. When compared to two weeks ago, the five-day moving average is up 160%.
The 14-day incidence rate has increased by 66% compared to last week. There are 95 people in hospitals with COVID-19, including 23 in intensive care units. A further 1189 new COVID-19 cases were reported in the country yesterday.
People who are hospitalised for other reasons who test positive for COVID-19 after admission require more resources, according to Mr Reid. These patients “need additional resources, isolation, infection control measures etc,” he added.
Testing volumes are up 10% from the pre
Testing volumes are up 10% from the previous week. The test positivity rate for community testing, walk-ins and self referrals is 10.5%. The overall positivity rate in the last seven days is 8.8%, with some areas having a rate of 25%. Close contacts are at 3.7 per person.
Testing capacity has been increased in Dublin, Donegal, Louth, Galway and Meath. There are facilities for 20,000 to 22,000 swab testing per day. Antigen tests may also be considered if demand increases.
Mr Reid said that 10% of cases last week were from people who had travelled in the previous 14 days.
Delta poses a risk to fully vaccinated people as well
The HSE Chief Clinical Officer points out that the Delta variant can cause problems even in those who have been vaccinated. “The harm is pushing towards older more vulnerable people all the time, even those who are fully vaccinated,” Dr Colm Henry warned.
“What really matters is what proportion of the vaccinated population can catch COVID. We know the vaccines we use are at least 90% effective against the most serious aspects of COVID … so a much smaller proportion of individuals are going to be admitted,” Dr. Henry said.
Over the last five days, the average number of new hospital admissions for COVID-19 has been 15-16. About 75% of new cases are in people under the age of 35, and 25% are in those aged 19 to 24. 2.9 per cent of the infected are over 65 years of age. Almost 90% of the 26 patients brought to ICU who were at least partially vaccinated had an underlying condition.
A total of 70 deaths have been confirmed in the last two months. 41 of the deceased were unvaccinated, 17 were partially vaccinated, and 12 were fully vaccinated. All of the persons who died after receiving full vaccination were above the age of 65.
Dr. Colm Henry warned that breakthroughs in infections would occur as levels of community transmission rise and advised both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals to continue to follow public health guidelines.
About 94% of health services affected by cyber-attack have been restored.
The HSE’s Chief Operations Officer said outpatient waiting list has risen to over 647,000, a 9% increase from the previous year. The number of inpatients reached 77,000. The figure has been improving since January, said Anne O’Connor.
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