Coronavirus: 164 New Cases Confirmed

National news on Wednesday 26th August.

Latest figures:

There have been no new deaths reported to the Health Protection Surveillance Centre today.

There has been a total of 1,777 COVID-19 related deaths in Ireland.

As of midnight Tuesday 25th August, the HPSC has been notified of 164 confirmed cases of COVID-19. There is now a total of 28,363* confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ireland.

Of the cases notified today;

83 are men / 81 are women

65% are under 45 years of age

80 are confirmed to be associated with outbreaks or are close contacts of a confirmed case

21 cases have been identified as community transmission

93 in Dublin, 22 in Kildare, 10 in Tipperary, 9 in Cork, 8 in Carlow, 6 in Waterford, 6 in Offaly and the remaining 10 cases are in Galway, Kilkenny, Limerick, Louth and Roscommon.

The HSE is working to identify any contacts the patients may have had to provide them with information and advice to prevent further spread.

The COVID-19 Dashboard provides up-to-date information on the key indicators of COVID-19 in the community.

Dr. Ronan Glynn, Acting Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health, said;

“We have seen a significant number of cases in Dublin, Kildare, Tipperary, Limerick, Cork and Carlow over the past number of days. I would urge people everywhere to follow the public health advice and reduce mixing of households where at all possible.

As we head into Autumn when people are more likely to have cold or ‘flu-like symptoms please do not adopt a wait and see approach. The greatest protection you can give your family and friends is to isolate as soon as you have any symptoms and contact your GP by phone. Remember, there should be no charge for either a consultation with your GP nor for a COVID-19 test should you require one.”

684 cases have been confirmed in Westemath, Offaly has 619 and 377 people in Laois have been diagnosed with the illness. These statistics were rmeasured at midnight on Monday 24 August.

Weddings:

Guests must wear masks when they attend weddings and leave function rooms by 11.30pm. 

They are among the rules outlined in new guidelines published by Fáilte Ireland. 

Face-coverings must be worn by guests when arriving to and leaving their table. 

Only 50 people will be allowed in a function area, including staff, and sanitiser should be at each table. 

COVID app:

The developers of the Covid Tracker app are to change the way the number of downloads are displayed on the app.

Instead, a 'percentage of coverage' will be used to take account of the number of people who delete and reload the app. 

Up to now, those downloads would have been counted twice.

Tech Correspondent Jess Kelly outlines the latest figures:

Young people:

People in their 20s and 30s are the most worried about being identified by close contacts if they contract COVID-19.

It's one of the findings of new research by the ESRI, which looked at misconceptions around COVID-19 and testing.

This study found over 70 percent of people would think negatively of someone who tested positive for the virus.

Barriers to getting tested are likely to be more prevalent in young people, according to the think-tank.

Dr Shane Timmons from the ESRI says younger people were more likely to face barriers towards getting a test:

The ESRI also says a fear of being blamed might prevent someone from being tested.

It also highlighted some misconceptions around testing.

Almost half of those surveyed didn't realise a GP consultation about COVID-19 and a subsequent test were free of charge.

Schools:

The Taoiseach says there will be lots of challenges along the way as school reopen across the country.

There has already been controversy with one secondary school holding an assembly with 150 students and a national school is using a garden shed as an isolation room.

The first schools opened yesterday after 5 months yesterday and there has already been controversy.

St leos college held a prayer assembly where 152 students gathered 1 metre apart with the ASTI describing it as unwise and ill advised. 

Elsewhere a school in Athlone has been criticised after pictures of a garden shed which its using as an isolation room went viral.

Principal of St Fiachras Aine Carberry says their isolation rooms are inside the building.

Thousands of Primary and secondary school students are returning to the classroom this week and next. 

Phil Hogan:

The European Affairs Minister isn’t confident we have the full story of Phil Hogan’s movements within Ireland.

The future of the embattled EU Commissioner hangs in the balance following the golf gate controversy.

The Taoiseach, Tanaiste and Green Party leader say it’s clear he breached public health guidelines while he was here.

Junior Minister Thomas Byrne still doesn’t feel we know everything about what happened:

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is expected to decide soon if Phil Hogan can stay in the job.

Sinn Fein’s Health Spokesperson David Cullinane says he should resign:

Committee:

The state's response to the recent spike in coronavirus cases is under the spotlight at a sitting of the special Covid-19 committee.

Politicians will be hearing from the Acting Chief Medical Officer and HSE Chief Executive - with proceedings just underway.

Paul Reid will outline how the country's facing 'a very difficult period ahead' in its battle against the virus.

He'll also outline that eliminating it from Ireland isn't realistic, and that we must learn to live with it.

GPs:

Almost half of people don't know that calling their GP about Covid-19 symptoms is free, according to the ESRI.

While over a third of people think they'll be charged for a test, despite it also being free.

A new survey from the think tank found over 70 percent of people believe that someone who contracts Covid-19 has been reckless or careless.

Dr Shane Timmins from the ESRI says it's important to remember how contagious the virus is:

Schools:

There are questions over a school assembly in Carlow yesterday where 152 students gathered 1 metre apart.

The first year students at St Leo's college congregated for the prayer assembly which the Department of Education has raised no objection to.

However the ASTI says the congregation was 'unwise' and 'ill advised'.

Thousands of students are returning to school this week and next.

Principal of Moyne Community College in Longford, Des Cullen, says they have put a lot of precautions in place ahead of reopening:

The country's largest teachers union's calling on the government to act swiftly to ensure its health advice for schools is fit for purpose.

The INTO says it sought clarity on face coverings for young kids and protocols for covid positive cases three weeks ago.

But General Secretary, John Boyle, says the situation remains unclear:

USA:

The US first Lady Melania Trump has promised Americans her husband will do everything in his power to manage the coronavirus pandemic. 

She's cast her husband as the best hope for America’s future.

Melanie Trump spoke from the Rose Garden at the White House as part of the Republican National Convention:

Social distancing:

It's claimed strict social distancing rules are based on outdated science and there shouldn't be a 'one-size-fits-all approach'.

A group of experts is calling for so-called 'graded recommendations' instead, so the measures vary depending on what you're doing and where. 

They've highlighted how some of the research, which points towards two metres being the preferred distance, was first published back in 1897.

British U-turn:

The British government's dropped its advice for students to NOT wear masks in English schools - but hasn't gone as far as to make them mandatory.

It's after Scottish secondary pupils were told they'd have to wear face coverings in public areas from Monday.

Northern Ireland's announced it's following the move.

Rod Grant, a headteacher in Scotland, says it should be one rule for the whole of the UK:

Reopening schools is the best thing we can do for the long-term health, social and educational development of our children.

Many have Qs about how schools will work as they reopen, on topics from lunchboxes to Covid symptoms. You can find answers here: https://t.co/cTOAw3r7wj

— Stephen Donnelly (@DonnellyStephen) August 25, 2020

"Eliminating virus isn't realistic":

The HSE chief executive says eliminating Covid-19 from Ireland isn't realistic and we must live with it. 

Paul Reid will also tell the Oireachtas coronavirus committee today that the health service faces 'a very difficult period' ahead.  

He will say over 750,000 Covid-19 tests have taken place in the country to date - with 5,000 contact tracing calls made last week. 

He will express concern at the 'large number' of outbreaks in private households, along with sporting and social clubs. 

Dr Denis McCauley, the chairman of the Irish Medical Organisation's GP committee, is calling for the public to take action to prevent a crisis in the healthcare system in the coming months:

Rising cases:

A leading virus expert claims the country will have 1,000 cases of Covid-19 a day in two months' time, if the current trend continues. 

Another 92 cases were confirmed yesterday, spread across 17 counties. 

UCC professor Gerry Killeen says it's not safe to reopen schools now, and he claims all pubs and restaurants should also be shut. 

He says yesterday's figures followed a recent pattern:

Nursing home complaints:

The health watchdog received nearly 300 complaints relating to Covid-19 in nursing homes in the space of five months.  

Staff who tested positive for the virus, but had no symptoms, were asked to continue to work, according to one complaint.  

According to freedom of information files, Hiqa got nearly 300 complaints relating to Covid-19 in nursing homes between the end of February and last month.  

They include concerns about a lack of PPE and poor social-distancing, and the effect the visiting ban had on residents' mental health.  

It's claimed a resident escaped from a nursing home for a number of hours, without staff knowing, and when they returned, there were no measures in place to isolate them.  

There were also concerns about two residents transferring from a unit that was coronavirus-positive to one that was Covid-negative.  

There were complaints about numerous coronavirus deaths in some centres, a lack of testing and low staffing levels due to outbreaks.  
One family member said they weren't told a nursing home had a suspected case of the virus when they admitted their relative.  

Five staff in scrubs got into a taxi together after they left a nursing home, it's claimed.  

A resident was allegedly neglected during the pandemic - they were left in bed, missed meals, had no clean clothes and had several falls.  

Hiqa says where it has concerns about residents' safety, or the care they're getting, nursing home providers need to take immediate action.

The HSE says private entities account for 80 per cent of nursing home beds in Ireland - but it has assisted them throughout the pandemic.  

Dr Sarah Donnelly, an assistant professor in social work in UCD, says recent mistakes must not be repeated:

Local figures:

There are 92 more cases of Covid-19 in the Republic, and no more deaths. 

31 of the cases are in Tipperary, and the remainder are spread across 16 other counties. 

No new cases were detected in the midlands. 

69% are among people under the age of 45. 

It brings the total number of cases to 28,201, and the death toll remains at 1,777. 

377 people in Laois have tested positive for the virus, Offaly has had a total of 619 cases confirmed, meanwhile in Westmeath it remains at 684 patients have had the illness. These figures are from the Department of Health and are measured at midnight on Sunday 23rd August.