The countries lifting restrictions and our cases
What is happening abroad? Aren’t some countries lifting restrictions?
÷ They certainly are, but it is worth remembering most countries had outbreaks long before us. We are roughly two weeks behind many European states in our Covid-19 journey. Nonetheless, it is encouraging to look at Spain, Italy and Austria. The Spanish government allowed 300,000 nonessential workers to return to work last Monday, including manufacturing, cleaning and construction staff. Shops, bars and public spaces remain closed for at least another week there. Some shops in Italy selling stationery and children’s clothes have started to reopen but a general lockdown remains in place. Meanwhile in Austria, small retailers, DIY shops and garden centres are open under the condition customers wear masks and remain one-metre apart. Shops and hairdressers are expected to open at the start of May, followed by restaurants in about a month from now.
Are we flattening the curve enough to go back to normality anytime soon?
÷ In the community, things are looking quite good at the moment. The same cannot be said for healthcare settings, with high rates of infection among doctors, nurses and in nursing homes. How these are burdened will have a significant say in the lifting of restrictions. Data up to the start of last week shows a quarter of diagnosed Covid-19 cases were linked to healthcare workers. Up to April 11, there were 2,501 Covid-19 cases among people working in the sector. This included 883 nurses and 445 healthcare assistants. Doctors were linked to
287 cases. At the National Maternity Hospital, 100 of its 900 staff are cocooning or self-isolating.
Where in the country has been worst hit by this?
÷ Dublin and Cork have the highest number of confirmed cases. This is to be expected because both counties house large populations. However, digging deeper makes for interesting reading. Looking at how each county is impacted depending on the size of its population (the number of cases per 100,000 people living there) shows Cavan, Westmeath, Kildare and Wicklow have high volumes of confirmed cases.
And what about the nursing homes? They seem under pressure.
÷ Officials are worried about the impact on nursing homes and announced measures last week to address the crisis in centres where elderly people live. One-third of residential care settings have confirmed cases, in some this has led to significant numbers of residents becoming infected or dying with Covid-19. The HSE has confirmed 335 outbreaks of Covid-19 occurred in long-term residential care facilities. These can include multiple cases in nursing homes, disability centres or other settings where people live and receive congregated care. The spread of infection in nursing homes has been linked to 245 deaths.
That must account for a lot of our cases?
÷ It does. To date, there have been 571 deaths from Covid-19 in Ireland, so nursing homes account for a significant portion of these. As of last night, there were 14,758 Covid-19 cases in Ireland. That’s roughly equivalent to the population of a large town, such as Maynooth or Killarney.
Clusters, or multiple cases in one setting, are quite concerning as the virus can spread rapidly among people who live or work together. There are 454 clusters where three or more people are a confirmed case. These include the care settings discussed above, hospitals and other healthcare settings, but also places of work and family homes. There are 53 confirmed clusters in people’s homes.
How is it spreading?
÷ It is unknown how
30pc of cases contracted the virus. Community transmission accounts for 17pc of cases. “Possible community transmission” was a factor in 21pc of cases. This all means we are passing the virus among ourselves to people we don’t know too regularly.