Coronavirus in Ireland: 84 new cases and three further deaths reported

A further 84 confirmed cases of Covid-19 have been notified to the National Public Health Emergency Team, it reported on Wednesday evening. This brings to 30,164 the total number of cases of the disease in the Republic.

Three further deaths were reported, bringing the total number of deaths at 1,781.

The reproduction number, a measure of how many people a case goes on to infect, now stands at close to 1 but 1.4 in Dublin, according to Prof Philip Nolan, chair of the NPHET epidemiological modelling advisory group.

Prof Nolan said that “if nothing changes … cases in Dublin would double every 14 days or so”.

A total of 307 new cases were reported on Tuesday, the highest number since mid-May, along with the first death in almost a month. Dublin accounted for 182 of Tuesday’s new cases, prompting chief medical officer Dr Ronan Glynn to express concern over the rising number of cases in the capital . He has emphasised in recent days the need for numbers to stabilise in Dublin and Limerick.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin said on Wednesday there was a lot of concern about the rising numbers in Dublin and Limerick but ruled out immediate local restrictions for the two counties.

Mr Martin said the Government’s longer-term plan for managing the virus, which is due to be launched next Tuesday, would “deal more comprehensively” with spikes in Covid-19 cases in the two counties.

“No specific decisions have been made in relation to those counties right now and NPHET will continue to monitor the situation,” he told reporters at a press briefing at Government Buildings.

There will be a Covid-19 cabinet meeting on Thursday where this would be discussed “in great detail,” he said.

The message to people in Dublin and Limerick was to remain “very vigilant, socially distance, reduce your social contacts,” he said.

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar questioned the need to introduce restrictions in Dublin and Limerick when the incidence of Covid-19 cases is higher in Belfast or other European cities.

“As a citizen and resident of Dublin and a minister responsible for business and employment, I would want a very good justification for that from the public health people as to why we would do anything more drastic in Dublin or Limerick than is being done in other cities around Europe that may have a higher incidence,” he said.

Asked whether the Government was considering similar measures to Glasgow where people are restricted from visiting other people’s homes to stem infections, Mr Varadkar said that he did not know whether they had worked and that there would need to be an analysis of them first.

Mr Varadkar said that the public managed to reduce the virus to very low levels earlier in the summer with public health measures and that people need “to step that up and intensify that” to avoid any new restrictions.