VACC TO YOUR OFFICE DESKS
Return of workers as restrictions continue to ease across country
OFFICE workers can return to their desks as Chief Medical Officer has given the green light for the Government to proceed with the easing of restrictions on Monday.
Outdoor group activities and rules around indoor sports and culture events will also be relaxed.
But chair of NPHET’S modelling, Prof Philip Nolan warned the number of people in ICU remains high.
Children who are close contacts of a confirmed case of Covid-19 won’t have to stay out of school from the end of this month, under plans being discussed by NPHET.
Currently a youngster who is a close contact of a case in a school is absent from the classroom for 10 to 14 days.
But this is expected to change once there is no significant increase to in-school transmission in the coming The HSE has estimated that, on any given day, around 10,000 children under the age of 18 are restricting their movements.
And around 1,200 youngsters are identified as close contacts and must be tested and restrict their movements.
It’s also understood NPHET will not recommend the mandatory wearing of face masks for primary school pupils, following advice from the Health Information & Quality Authority.
However, Prof Nolan tweeted: “We are seeing a slow improvement in overall epidemiological situation, with incidence, numbers in hospital and daily admissions to hospital decreasing. The number of people in ICU remains high, and it will take a number of weeks for decreasing incidence before we see a significant decrease in the numbers requiring critical care.
“We have seen a huge increase in demand for testing of asymptomatic children who have come in contact with an infected person; testing in children aged five to 12 has quadrupled over the last three weeks, so we are now testing 1% of that age group daily.
“The massive increase in testing has yielded a much smaller increase in the number of infecweeks. tions detected, and it is likely there is, at worst, a modest increase in incidence in children of primary school age coincident with the opening of schools.
“What we are seeing is the benefits of very widespread vaccination – almost 90% of those aged 16 and over – along with population-wide adherence to basic mitigation measures.
“Incidence will decline further, reducing risk for all, if we stick with these measures.”
The NPHET meeting also discussed a review of evidence on antigen testing which was carried out by HIQA.
It’s understood it will be up to sectors such as third-level education and workplaces to consider if they will use antigen testing as part of many measures to protect against Covid-19.
Meanwhile, the Vice President of the Intensive Care Society of Ireland, Dr Alan Gaffney has said two thirds of the patients with Covid-19 who are being treated in intensive care units are unvaccinated.