Tony Holohan 'hopeful' but not 'making predictions' around easing Covid-19 restrictions
The Chief Medical Officer has said he is “hopeful” he will be able to make “a positive recommendation with regard to restrictions” ahead of the May 18 deadline as Ireland’s Covid-19 statistics continue to show improvement.
Dr Tony Holohan, speaking at the daily briefing of the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET), said that he wouldn’t be “making predictions” however as to the likelihood of the first phase of Ireland’s roadmap to the easing of restrictions will be allowed to go ahead.
“I’ve said that I’m hopeful,” he said.
The news came as a further 15 deaths from the coronavirus were reported in Ireland, bringing the overall death toll here to 1,467. An additional 139 confirmed cases meanwhile sees the overall number of cases in an Irish context rise to 22,894.
That figure of 139 represents a return to low levels of new cases not seen since late-March, with Dr Holohan clarifying that Sunday’s figure of 236 had been “over-reported” in “error”, and that the official statistics had been adjusted to reflect that fact.
The briefing dealt with the updated length of time people are waiting to receive test results having been referred by a GP, with the HSE’s national director of community operations David Walsh saying that period from initial referral to the beginning of contact tracing is now five days.
“That’s an improving figure,” he said. “We are hopeful of having it down to four days by the end of this week.”
The lowering figure is an encouraging sign given the health authorities have been bedevilled by test wait times being consistently longer than the official figures have stated.
The lower the turnaround time for testing the more effective attempts at isolation and contact tracing will prove to be.
Mr Walsh said that he “understands” that the data on wait times is “now being compiled on a daily basis”, which suggests it may be published on such a basis in the near future, an eventuality which would bring a deal of clarity regarding testing that has previously not been available.
Hospital tests remain those with the quickest turnaround times, he said - averaging two days - with those processed in laboratories taking three days on average at present.
As to how long the process of contact tracing is currently taking, Dr Holohan said it “should be shorter” than four days for non-complex cases, they being those where the number of contacts with an infected person are relatively low.
Meanwhile, Dr Holohan said that some cases of negative test results in ordinarily healthy people who presented with Covid-19 symptoms could possibly be psychosomatic.
“Of course that can happen,” he said, adding that however it is more likely that people are suffering from illnesses that share symptoms with the virus.
Regarding the idea of false negatives, Dr Holohan said that “we don’t think this is something that is happening to a great extent, though of course we can’t say that it isn’t happening”.
He said that a correct positive test result for the virus is most likely to be delivered when a person’s symptoms are at their most severe when the viral load is heaviest.
Regarding a letter, purporting to be from the local branch of the HSE, to residents of the Skellig Star direct provision centre in Cahersiveen, Co Kerry, which alleged that the outbreak of the virus seen there had resulted from those residents not socially isolating effectively, Mr Walsh said he had yet to verify the letter’s authenticity or otherwise, but had said he was “committed” to doing so.
On the subject of NPHET making a recommendation on the wearing of masks in the near future meanwhile - a subject which has been much discussed in an Irish context - Dr Holohan said he is “not anticipating we will make the wearing of masks mandatory”.
He added however that if the wearing of masks is recommended by the authorities he would “expect to see high levels of compliance”.
He said that today’s meeting of NPHET will further be considering the change in protocols in the UK, which has seen lockdown restrictions ease and the central message change to one of “stay alert”, and whether or not they will have any effect on Ireland given the presence of the Common Travel Area between the two countries.
