Ireland’s in for the “long haul” in its fight to suppress Covid-19, according to the Taoiseach.
Micheal Martin told his parliamentary party last night the UK variant is increasing the disease’s reproductive number by zero-point-five and is slowing the decline in case numbers.
He also told members that reopening schools and construction will be the priority during Level 5, and he expects the numbers in hospital to be around 800 by the end of the month.
Infectious disease consultant at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin, Eoghan De Barra, says Covid-19 will be around for some time to come.
Latest Figures
94 further Covid-19 deaths have been reported, as well as 1,013 new cases.
Of these 15 are in Carlow with 12 in Kilkenny.
Carlow’s 14-day incidence rate in recent days has seen it fall into fourth highest in the country with 586.7 per 100,000 people, it’s still ahead of the national average of 424.1 though.
While Kilkenny’s still fourth lowest at 200.5.
Hospitals
There are 1,300 people with Covid-19 in public hospitals, the lowest figure in almost four weeks.
University Hospital Waterford (UHW) again tops the list, one recent admission bringing the number of patients battling the virus there to 99, eight of whom are in intensive care and there’s one further suspected case at the facility.
St Luke’s General for Carlow and Kilkenny has 26 people with Coronavirus, three in ICU, with nobody else showing signs.
Latest figures from the HSE show there are currently 37 vacant ICU beds in the public system, while nine ICUs have no beds available. Both Luke’s and UHW have a bed each free.
Vaccine
Ireland’s over seventies could begin to be vaccinated at GP clinics from next week.
Logistical plans are currently being worked on in a bid to roll out the Pfizer and Moderna doses in doctor’s surgeries.
The two have been recommended for use in the elderly ahead of AstraZeneca because of a better success rate, however they’re not as easily stored.
Chair of the Irish Medical Organisation’s GP Committee is Dr. Denis McCauley, he believes the issue can be worked out quickly and says administering the doses could start soon.
Meanwhile, Covid-related presentations to GPs have fallen to their lowest point since early December.
Dr Shane McKeogh is a founder of GP Buddy, which tracks calls to surgeries around the country and he says there’s been a big improvement.
Travel
A study suggests international travel had the biggest impact on death rates during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Researchers from the University of Aberdeen have looked at 37 of the worst-hit countries in the world.
They’ve found an extra one million arrivals was associated with a 3.4% rise in the average daily increase in Covid-19 deaths.
Sniffer Dogs
Scientists have trained sniffer dogs to detect Covid-19 with 94% accuracy.
The animals are being trained in Germany to recognise the “odour” in human saliva samples of those infected with the virus.
It’s thought they could also sniff out asymptomatic patients.
The UK
Nearly half of people in the UK have felt the need to take time off work because of our mental health during the pandemic.
But a survey’s found just 17% did – because of a fear of stigma around it.
Four in ten people said a friend or colleague reaching out to them made them feel like they weren’t alone.
Meanwhile, new research suggests many parents in the UK want to continue flexible working when Covid-19 restrictions are lifted.
A survey’s revealed one in five hope to continue dialling in remotely, while most favoured a mixture of home and office work.
More than a third also fear they’ll lose their jobs when the pandemic eases.
eBay
eBay’s reported a jump in sales over the festive season, as Covid-19 restrictions pushed more shoppers to buy online.
The online marketplace saw revenues rise to €2.3 billion in the three months to the end of December, beating expectations by 140 million.
Annual active buyers also grew by 7% to 185 million.
