NPHET confirms six different outbreaks in community hospitals and nursing homes

Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan warns that no nursing homes can be protected from Covid clutches unless the society joins together and work together to bring down the rising level of community transmission.

National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) on Thursday confirmed that there were six different outbreaks in community hospitals and nursing homes.

At present the authorities has confirmed 33 outbreaks with 451 related cases, they also suggest that these numbers could be narrowed only if people respond positively to the government’s guidelines and orders.

“We have seen an increase in the number of nursing homes that have picked up this infection. We have seen an increase in the number of people within the nursing homes who have picked up this infection, and we have seen some mortality numbers associated with that,” Dr Holohan said.

He said that as long as the transmission rate in the country stays high, it will be hard for the government to protect the nursing homes.

Recently, 132 nursing homes are getting some sort of support along with 35 receiving extensive support from Covid support team, said Dr. Colm Henry, chief clinical officer of the HSE.

1,066 more Covid cases were confirmed on Thursday and this brought the total numbers to 54,476. Three deaths were also confirmed last day and thus, it became 1,871 deaths in total.  

Dr. Holohan also raises concerns regarding the public buy-in.

“It is not surprising that people would find another ask to do all of this all over again a hugely difficult challenge,” he said.

“I’m not going to get into predicting failure; I am going to be expressing optimism that we can do this.” He added.

The major aim of the level 5 is to flatten the cure and too reduce the current rates to 100 or below, the figures released on Thursday will make NPHET’s job much harder.

Dr Heather Burns, a deputy chief medical officer said that the risk to one getting exposed to Covid-19 virus has now become 100 times greater when compared to June or July.   

While going through the data, professor Philip Nolan, chair of the NPHET Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group, pointed out that there is an exponential rise in the number of cases and also in the hospitalisation rates.

“Unfortunately, one of the lessons from Dublin is that where the rate of growth of disease slowed at the point that Level 3 measures were introduced within about 14 days it began to rise again . . . as quickly as the rest of the country,” Prof Nolan said.