We’re going in the right direction

HEALTH chiefs are cautiously optimistic that Ireland is going in the right direction as the coronavirus outbreak is stabilising, acting Chief Medical Officer Ronan Glynn has said.

The reproductive rate has fallen to between one and 1.4. Nine new deaths were reported yesterday and another seven cases were listed as detected, the National Public Health Emergency Team said.

However, all but one of those deaths were late reported fatalities that happened in April, May and June. There have now been 25,826 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the country, and 1,763 deaths.

Dr Glynn said: ‘Two weeks ago, we expressed our concerns about worrying trends in the progression of Covid-19 in Ireland. Collectively, people in Ireland responded to this call for action and together have broken the chains of transmission.’ However, Dr Glynn has warned that he cannot rule out a return to Phase 2 if people don’t observe the guidelines. Particular concerns relate to young people who feel ‘invulnerable’ to the virus and those who fail to come forward for testing.

Medics aim to get the reproductive rate of the virus below one and keep it there so the total number with the virus diminishes.

Dr Glynn added that his biggest concern is around people failing to social distance.

‘The single biggest thing I see, day to day, is that people are forgetting to physically distance,’ he said. ‘This virus can only transmit when people come into contact with one another. It’s fully understandable that, as things improve, people have dropped their guard, so if there’s one message I have it’s to keep thinking about the space between yourself and others.’

HSE clinical officer Colm Henry said that people failing to come forward for testing may lead to a new outbreak.