Health « Thurles Information

Killer Covid-19 Cases On Irish Mainland Reach 6,391.

The Department of Health has confirmed, over the past 24 hours, 4,235 new cases of Covid-19 her in the Irish Republic.

There remain 470 people in hospital with the disease, down 23 on yesterday’s reported figures; of whom 105 are in ICU, a further reduction of 4 over the same time period.
There have also, sadly, been 47 deaths directly attributed to the disease, within the last 7 day, here in the Irish Republic.

In the Republic, also the Health Service Executive (HSE) has informed medical practitioners that they can offer booster mRNA vaccines to pregnant women aged 16 and older, people aged 40 to 49, and people aged 16-39 in descending order by age. Persons aged 16 to 29 who got a single dose Janssen vaccine can now be offered a booster vaccine, in parallel with those aged 30-39.

Republic of Ireland’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr Tony Holohan, has warned that today marks 10 days before Christmas, and if residents contract Covid-19 today, their isolation period will include Christmas Day.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has also warned that vaccinations alone cannot and will not stop the rise of the new Omicron variant of coronavirus, adding that strong action was urgently required. This Omicron Covid-19 variant has now been detected in 77 countries, since it was first identified three weeks ago.

An Tánaiste Mr Leo Varadkar has stated that he expects the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) to make further recommendations tomorrow with regard to managing social contacts and the decreasing of social mixing.

A further 2,156 new cases of coronavirus has also been confirmed in Northern Ireland today, up from 1,581 cases reported yesterday.

There were 315 patients with Covid-19, in northern hospitals, same down from 326 reported yesterday and of these 32 patients were in hospital intensive care units, up 1 on yesterday.
Sadly, 4 Covid-19-related deaths have also been reported in Northern Ireland over the past 24 hours.

Please, Please do take all measures necessary to ensure a safe Christmas in Co. Tipperary.

Vulnerability Of Ireland’s Drinking Water Must Be Urgently Addressed.

Vulnerability of Ireland’s drinking water supplies must be urgently addressed by Irish Water.

The quality of drinking water from public supplies is high, with over 99.7% of samples compliant with bacterial and chemical limits.
At the end of 2020, 46 vulnerable water supplies – serving 1 million people – required significant works, with over half experiencing delays.
Over 15,500 people were on boil water notices for longer than one month.
It will take decades for Irish Water to remove all lead connections at their current rate of replacement.

The EPA Drinking Water Quality in Public Supplies Report 2020 released today, shows that the quality of drinking water in public supplies remains high, with over 99.7% compliance with bacterial and chemical limits. The continued high levels of water quality being achieved are positive for consumers and indicate that the water is safe to drink.
However, improvements are needed in our drinking water infrastructure to protect public health. Delays in the delivery of these improvements at water treatment plants by Irish Water means that water supplies remain vulnerable for longer, posing a risk to the health of a large portion of the population.

The EPA’s Remedial Action List identified 46 vulnerable supplies (serving 1,000,000 consumers) with significant issues to be addressed by Irish Water at the end of 2020. This figure is down from 77 supplies in 2017. Through EPA targeted enforcement, Leixlip has since been removed from the list, after works there resulted in a more secure water supply for over half a million people. However, improvement works at almost half of these supplies will now take longer to complete than was anticipated at the end of 2019.

Launching the report, Dr Tom Ryan, EPA Director said:

“It is good news that our water is safe to drink today, but we cannot say with confidence that it is resilient into the future. The EPA remains concerned about the vulnerability of many drinking water supplies nationally. Irish Water needs to fix the remaining supplies on the EPA’s Remedial Action List without further delay. Recent incidents at Gorey and Ballymore Eustace water treatment plants have highlighted the absolute necessity for Irish Water to ensure our public water supplies are properly and effectively operated, and managed, to protect public health.”

The EPA has also found deficiencies in the national disinfection programme, and a continued lack of focus by Irish Water and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage on plans to remove lead from supply connections and assessments of the extent of lead pipework in public buildings on lead in public buildings.

Mr Noel Byrne, EPA Programme Manager, said:

“15,500 consumers were on Boil water notices for over a month in 2020, and 145,000 households still have lead connections from water mains, which highlights the vulnerabilities that exist in drinking water supplies.

Irish Water must expedite lead connection replacements and progress improvements to disinfection systems – including addressing the issues with the disinfection programme identified by the EPA – to ensure that the quality of drinking water is adequately safeguarded.”

The EPA Drinking Water Quality in Public Supplies Report 2020 and the complete list of public water supplies currently on the Remedial Action List – including details of the proposed remedial measures and associated timeframes – are available on the EPA website.

Killer Covid-19 Cases Reach 5,468 On Irish Mainland.

There have been 3,887 new cases of Covid-19 confirmed by the Department of Health, in the Irish Republic; reported in the past 24 hours.

Of these 493 patients are in our hospital’s having tested positive for Covid-19, down 25 from on yesterday’s reported total and of these 109 are receiving treatment in intensive care units, an increase of 1 on yesterday.

Earlier today, An Taoiseach Mr Micheál Martin said the Government needs everyone on board in relation to the booster roll-out, as the new Omicron variant is of a serious concern.

The National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) estimates that 11% of Covid-19 cases in Ireland currently are now due to the new, more transmissible, Omicron variant.

Dr Mike Ryan, head of the World Health Organization’s Health Emergency Programme, has stated that we can’t vaccinate our way out of this pandemic nor can we lockdown our way, what we have to do is have coherent, multilayered strategies that get us through to the end of this pandemic.
Mr Ryan also warned the public to expect that rising numbers and force of infection would generate more hospitalisations within the coming weeks.

In possibly more encouraging news, results based on trials of more than 2,200 people and other back-up findings announced last month by Pfizer; the drugs company has stated today that clinical trials confirmed its new anti-Covid pill reduced hospitalisations and deaths among at-risk people by almost 90%, when it was taken in the first few days after Covid symptoms had appeared.
The company further stated that this oral treatment appears to be effective against the new Omicron variant.

A further 1,581 new cases of coronavirus were reported in Northern Ireland today, up from 1,431 reported yesterday.

There are 326 patients with Covid-19 in hospitals in Northern Ireland, up from 309 yesterday, and of these, 31 patients with Covid-19 are in northern hospital intensive care units.
Sadly, 4 further Covid-19-related deaths have also been reported in Northern Ireland today.

In Northern Ireland also, persons wishing to patronise nightclubs, pubs, restaurants and other licensed premises will now need to provide proof of vaccination or a negative lateral flow test result or evidence of a previous Covid-19 infection.

Take measures today to ensure a safe Christmas in Co. Tipperary.

Today Killer Covid-19 Cases Confirmed At 6,119 On Irish Mainland.

People Urged to get Booster Vaccine.

The Department of Health has confirmed 4,688 new cases of Covid-19, over the past 24 hours, here in the Republic of Ireland.

There are 517 patients with Covid-19 in our Republic’s hospitals, an increase of 13 on yesterday’s reported figures and of these 108 are in intensive care units.

The number of Omicron variant cases has increased here in the Irish Republic by 8, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 18.

Green Party leader Mr Eamon Ryan has urged people to get the Covid booster vaccine, stating there are real and valid concerns because of the threat posed by the Omicron variant.

Minister for Health Mr Stephen Donnelly has accepted a National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC) recommendation and people will now be able to receive a booster dose of a Covid-19 vaccine three months after their second dose.
Latest figures show that more than 1,209.243 doses of the booster vaccine have already been administered, to-date, here in the Irish Republic.

The Department of Education has announced a €62m Covid-19 funding scheme for all schools which aims to assist in improving ventilation and minor school works.

A further 1,431 new cases of coronavirus were reported in Northern Ireland today, down from 1,548 reported yesterday.
Today, there were 309 patients with Covid-19 in Northern Ireland hospitals, with 32 of these patients in hospital intensive care units.
Sadly, 4 Covid-19 related deaths have also been confirmed in Northern Ireland today, bringing their total deaths to 2,928.
Northern Ireland must now brace itself for a Covid-19 storm, Minister Mr Paul Givan has warned the public, as 10 cases of the Covid-19 variant Omicron is confirmed. He claimed the expectation will copy the same trajectory as what is happening currently in Great Britain.

In England, as the country launches an ambitious Covid booster shot programme in an effort to stop the spread of the virus; one person is now known to have died after being infected with the new Omicron variant.

According to the country’s Serum Institute, the Omicron variant is expected to become the dominant virus this week in Denmark, with new daily cases reaching some 10,000. The institute has identified 3,437 Omicron cases since it was first detected in Denmark on November 22nd last.

In Sydney, Australia, some 70 cases of the Omicron variant have been detected in the country to-date.

The Prime Minister of Norway, Mr Jonas Gahr Stoere has stated Norway will tighten restrictions and speed up vaccination in a bid to limit an expected surge of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus

In China, state media has reported, today, their first case of the fast-spreading Omicron coronavirus variant.

Take measures today to ensure a safe Christmas in Co. Tipperary.

Killer Covid-19 Cases Are Confirmed At 6,215 Today, On Irish Mainland.

The Department of Health has confirmed 4,667 new cases of Covid-19, over the past 24 hours, here in the Republic of Ireland.

There are 504 people in hospital, up 23 patients since yesterday. Of these 109 are in ICU, down 2 on figures reported yesterday.
The number of booster vaccinations accepted here in the Republic to-date now stands at 1,114,334; however sadly, the total number of deaths in the Republic, up to Wednesday December 8th last, now stands at 5,788.

Four additional cases of the Omicron variant have also been detected in the Republic, bringing to 10 the total number of cases that have been identified, following whole-genome sequencing.

Immunologist Professor Mr Kingston Mills has stated that the current booster campaign has to be speedily expedited, to everybody who is eligible. He further stated that we have a very small numbers of Omicron variant cases here so far and if we could manage to contain this new variant, we could avert its worst effects. However, he warned that if Omicron continues its pace in the UK; it is going to spread here into Ireland, since we are so linked with easy travel to both Northern Ireland and the UK.
Meanwhile, from tomorrow, the vaccination campaign is being expanded in England with people in their 30s now able to book a booster dose.

Following the decision by the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC) to recommend vaccination for children aged 5 to 11, for vaccination against Covid-19 here in Éire, it is expected to be January before any vaccination of this grouping will fully materialise.

In Australia, it has been agreed to shorten the waiting time for people to receive Covid-19 booster vaccines, following a rise in cases of the Omicron variant. Australia had previously said it would offer a Covid-19 booster to everyone over 18 and who had their second dose of the vaccine six months prior. Australian Health Minister Mr Greg Hunt has stated that the time interval will now be shortened to five months after receipt of the second dose.

Another 1,548 new cases of coronavirus have been reported in Northern Ireland today, up from 1,446 on yesterday.
To date the total number of deaths linked to Covid-19 in Northern Ireland since the start of the pandemic rises is 2,924, including, sadly, 3 further reported deaths today.

It remains essential that we here in Co. Tipperary and nationally, continue to listen to science and keep ourselves and our families safe by regularly washing our hands; wearing a mask when appropriate, and cutting down on unnecessary social contacts.