DUBLIN: Professor Philip Nolan, chair of the Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group, said the number of COVID-19 cases in Ireland has risen in the last 10 days due to increased mobility and social mixing. Prof. Nolan warned that if people do not limit this, case numbers could remain stable or increase in the coming days.
Dr. Mai Mannix, director of public health at HSE Mid-West, stated that in certain cases, people simply meeting for a cup of tea or attending funerals spread the virus. This is because when people meet each other, they interact without social distance and without wearing a mask, Dr. Mannix said.
The National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) reports that 582 new COVID-19 cases have been confirmed yesterday in Ireland.
The Health Department has stated that no deaths related to COVID-19 were reported in the country.
156 of the new cases are in Dublin, 23 in Meath, 19 in Donegal, 15 in Louth, 14 in Kildare and the remaining 198 cases are spread across all other counties.
As of yesterday morning, 345 COVID-19 patients were hospitalised, with 83 in ICU.
According to the latest figures, 615,934 doses of the vaccine were administered in Ireland. Of these, 455,182 people received their first dose and 165,398 received their second dose.
Prof. Nolan said in a statement that there were 403 COVID-19 cases in children between the ages of 5 and 12 last week. 18 of these cases were linked to a small number of school outbreaks.
Meanwhile, he says that workplaces are a source of infection, citing the fact that workplace attendance has risen slowly but steadily since January.
Meanwhile, new guidelines for visiting nursing homes will take effect from Monday. Only two visits per week will be permitted for a range of reasons.
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