The cabinet sub-committee on Covid will meet this afternoon to get advice on when parts of the economy might re-open in the coming months.
Schools and construction are the two areas likely to be given priority.
Many of the big decisions about how the next few months will unfold will be informed by what happens at this evening’s meeting.
NPHET will feed advice to the government, recommendations that will be very hard to go against for Ministers after the mistakes made in December.
It’s expected to advise on a school re-opening date that could be as early as March 1st.
That will happen on a phased basis starting with Leaving Certs and the younger classes in primary school, and will be reviewed every two weeks.
NPHET will also advise on whether construction can more fully open in March.
Some Ministers are skeptical this can happen given the high number of cases, but the Department of Housing has prepared significant evidence that the sites that have been open to date have operated safely, in order to support its case.
The advice from NPHET will feed into the revised living with COVID plan which will be published next Tuesday.
But any easing of restrictions in March and April are expected to be very limited.
Covid Cases
The Taoiseach says health officials are ‘hugely concerned’ as the so-called ‘UK variant’ which emerged in December now accounts for 90% of Covid-19 cases.
It comes as the death toll from the virus exceeded 4,000 here yesterday, and more than 6,000 on the island of Ireland.
57 additional deaths were reported last night, along with 650 new cases, seven in Carlow with five in Kilkenny.
Hospitals
There are 765 patients in public hospitals with the virus, while there’s 154 in intensive care.
Three of these are at the unit at St Luke’s General for Carlow and Kilkenny, among 15 patients with Coronavirus there after one new admission.
While five people are in the ICU at University Hospital Waterford with 38 elsewhere there after one new admission and one further suspected case.
Dr Gerald Barry, an assistant professor of virology in UCD, says the decline in cases may slow down in the coming weeks.
While the number of people going to GPs with Covid-19 symptoms has dropped by a third over the past week.
Dr Shane McKeogh is a founder of GP Buddy, which tracks calls to surgeries nationwide and he says the number is continuing to decline.
Vaccine
The first round of Covid vaccinations for the over-85s is continuing today locally.
Ayrfield Medical Centre has more patients coming into their drive through clinic.
They started the local rollout yesterday along with the Castle Gardens and Patrick’s St Medical Centre in the city.
The first GP practices in Carlow are expected to get their initial batches next week.
Speaking to KCLR Dr Seathrún O Casadaigh said “There was a real magic, the sun was shining, the atmosphere was almost like Carnival, there was a happiness, a relief and I suppose we had a few photographs out for people that were happy to have themselves photographed, most of them were delighted, and they’re beautiful pictures, we’ll have them forever, we’ll have the memories forever because it really is a very memorable occasion”.
He adds “We were talking about the loneliness that people have suffered, that loneliness is very acute when you’re older and you miss your family and you miss your grandchildren, many of them spoke about how they miss their grandchildren and their children and they have to wait another month, unfortunately, but when they get their second shot they can start getting back in touch with all those people they love so dearly”.
One local woman got the vaccine on her 88th birthday and told our Sue Nunn about that on The Way It Is – listen back here:
Meanwhile, the tuberculosis vaccine may protect new-borns against Covid-19.
A study’s found inoculating all babies on the day of birth with the B-C-G injection could potentially save thousands of lives a year in places with high infectious disease rates.
Researchers say the results also increase the chances of the drug being used to prevent Covid-19 in children and adults.
Covid-19 with other conditions
New research also suggests one in five diabetes patients admitted to hospital with Covid-19 die within 28 days.
Results from an ongoing study in France also showed one in eight were still in hospital 28 days after they first arrived.
Currently, people in Ireland with the condition are not prioritised for a vaccine despite calls from Diabetes Ireland.
Meanwhile, research also shows more than half of Covid-19 patients with severe symptoms and raised protein levels had some form of heart damage after being discharged.
It’s thought up to 40% of people with the virus had an increased amount of troponin – which is released into the blood when the heart muscle’s injured.
Scientists say careful monitoring and targeted treatments will help prevent this.
In Northern Ireland
There will be a review of Northern Ireland’s Covid-19 lockdown later, with the attention likely to be on schools.
Current restrictions are in place until March 5th – but the Executive’s meeting to look at them again.
This current set of measures started on December 26th.
Education Minister Peter Weir says a definite answer about when classrooms can reopen for all children could come today.
