Covid-19: the country is “clearly now in a third wave of this pandemic”; Chief medical officer writes “Level 5 restrictions will be needed after Christmas”
The chair of the NPHET Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group Professor Philip Nolan said the country is “clearly now in a third wave of this pandemic” as 727 new Covid-19 cases were confirmed this evening.
The Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan said that “really at this stage it’s really important that people stay at home, that they really stop socialising”.
Nolan said the positivity rate for the coronavirus is “increasing rapidly”, currently standing at 5.2%.
He said this shows there is “widespread transmission of the virus in the community”.
The situation in Dublin is “now is as bad as it was at the peak of the October wave”, Nolan said.
He also said that last week, the incidence of the disease increased across different parts of the population, including a “very concerning increase” in those aged over 85.
Nolan added that in this third wave of the pandemic, people aged over 85 are “catching the virus early” which was not the case in the second wave.
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Chief medical officer Tony Holohan has written to the Minister for Health saying Level 5 restrictions will be needed to control the spread of Covid-19 after Christmas, it has emerged.
It is understood that Dr Holohan wrote to Stephen Donnelly on Monday afternoon. Sources said that in the letter, Dr Holohan told the Minister that Level 5 would be needed to control the virus in the coming weeks.
It is understood that the letter is not an official letter from the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet), but is rather written by Dr Holohan in his capacity as chair.
He said the measures set out in Level 5 would be necessary after Christmas, but did not give a specific date on which they should be introduced.
Source https://www.thejournal.ie/ireland-third-wave-coronavirus-stay-at-home-5308124-Dec2020/
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
