Summer gatherings in doubt as crowds could lead to second wave of virus
Summer gatherings, including music festivals and the GAA championships, have been thrown into doubt as the number of
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Significant restrictions could potentially remain in place for many more months to come after a further 31 people were yesterday confirmed to have died from Covid-19. The total number of deaths linked to the virus now stands at 365.
The National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) also confirmed 992 new cases yesterday, bringing the total to 10,647. The newly confirmed cases include 527 cases reported by Irish laboratories and 465 cases from the backlog of tests being analysed at a laboratory in Germany.
Dr Colm Henry, chief clinical officer of the HSE and a member of the NPH, said that there is “uncertainty” over how Covid-19 will spread after the peak and subsequent lifting of social distancing guidelines.
Speaking as part of the HSE’s weekly briefing on the outbreak, he said worldwide evidence was showing that the virus does not peak and immediately end, and that modelling data was based on the loosening and tightening of social measures.
“Why would we beat that curve down — hopefully crushing it in the coming weeks if we all buckle down — if suddenly we all decided to congregate on beaches and football stadiums or matches?” he said.
Dr Henry said that he could not say for sure whether the GAA championships particularly would be able to go ahead, but said that there was likely to be a second wave of infection.
“We’re all learning what social measures you can loosen to allow society return to some semblance of normality, while at the same time containing the virus,” he said.
Health minister Simon Harris stressed in a separate briefing that life
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“There isn’t going to be a magic point at the start of May where life as we knew it before the coronavirus can resume. I think, being truthful, social distancing is going to remain a very big part of life — not just in Ireland but the world over — until we get to a vaccine or an effective treatment for the coronavirus,” he said.
Mr Harris cited modelling which projected that Ireland would have had 120,000 new cases of the virus in just one day next Sunday if the Government had failed to implement severe restrictions on movement.
Paul Reid, the CEO of the HSE, said that the testing backlog, which is now at 11,000, would be clear by the
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He added that Ireland was “not past the worst” of the outbreak, but said he could not predict when the peak of the surge might come.
Mr Reid also confirmed that a “significant delivery” of reagents have arrived from China and is now undergoing quality assurance testing.
He also acknowledged that there was a “significant issue” with the availability of gowns to protect health workers, with a second €67m batch due in from China in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization’s Covid-19 envoy, David Nabarro, has warned that face
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“This virus isn’t going to go away and we don’t know when we will have a vaccine,” he said. “Yes, we will have to wear masks. Yes, there will have to be more physical distancing.”
Health authorities here have ruled out directing people to wear masks in public.
The spectre of the outbreak also hangs over the political landscape today. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Fianna Fáil leader Micheal Martin will today meet to sign off on a policy document which outlines the basis of a programme for government.
