Health officials will meet today to discuss the ‘very concerning’ rise of Covid-19 cases, particularly in Dublin and Limerick.

It’s claimed the numbers contracting Covid-19 in the capital could double every two weeks if the current trends continue.

The Acting Chief Medical Officer has urged people to limit their social contacts, and to stop family gatherings such as communions and christenings in private households.

There were no new local cases reported for Carlow or Kilkenny in the latest list of 84 released last night. Up to midnight Monday (7 September) 255 had tested positive in Carlow with 422 in Kilkenny.

Dr Ronan Glynn says the current rise nationally as well as in Dublin will be on the agenda for today’s meeting noting “There are measures in place nationally because we’re not happy with where the disease is at nationally, now they have stabilised things, with the exception really of Dublin & Limerick, but there is a message here & it goes back to a common message I suppose over many weeks & months which is we want people to be able to socialise, we want people to get outdoors, to play sport”.

Chair of the Covid-19 Modelling Group, Professor Philip Nolan, says the R number for the country is now closer to one.

However, it’s higher in Dublin as he outlines “The disease appears to be growing, on average about 5% per day in Dublin, its reproduction number in Dublin appears to be at 1.4, if we don’t act now to reduce our contacts & to be much more careful in how we manage our essential contacts that means the number of cases in Dublin will double every 14 days or so”.

Meanwhile, a new Covid-19 alert system will introduce local lockdowns based on the level of infections in a county or region.

The government is due to publish the plan which will include five levels of restrictions.

According to the Irish Independent, counties will be able to move up and down the levels which will be set out depending on a number of factors including the number of new cases per 100 thousand people.

Covid-19 in the UK

England’s chief medical officer has warned things will be “difficult” between now and the spring, as the government introduces new lockdown measures.

From Monday, no more than six people will legally be allowed to meet up, either indoors or outside.

Anyone breaking the rules could be fined or even arrested.

Professor Chris Whitty says it’s “very unlikely” the measures will be over in “just two or three weeks”, and admitted not eveyone will welcome them.

It comes as Heathrow’s boss is urging the government to fast track a coronavirus test which gives results in 20 seconds.

Chief executive John Holland-Kaye says a new test launched on Wednesday after a three-week trial at the airport, is “quicker” than the UK government’s preferred lab tests, and “potentially more accurate”.

Yesterday, Boris Johnson said he wanted to introduce a test to determine if someone is negative, so people can begin to lead more normal lives.

Meanwhile, Scientists in the UK have developed a score-system to predict the chance of death for adults admitted to hospital with Covid-19.

The 4-C Mortality Score uses data to accurately categorise patients as being at low, intermediate, high or very high risk.

Researchers in the British Medical Journal look at measures including age, underlying conditions, respiratory rate and blood oxygen concentration to give their rating.

Pandemic Childcare Responsibilities

It’s thought around half of mothers have taken on more childcare responsibilities than their partners during lockdown.

Research from Ipsos M-O-R-I in the UK found a quarter of dads say their other halves are playing a bigger role, compared to 12 percent of mums.

The study also shows prioritising family over work is now seen to be less damaging to a woman’s career – falling seven percent since February.