CMO: “Early signs of hope” in Covid-19 battle

Chief Medical Officer Dr. Tony Holohan has said that there are “early signs of hope” in Ireland’s battle against Covid-19.

Speaking at yesterday evening’s press briefing, during which 3,569 new cases of Covid-19 were confirmed, Dr. Holohan said that while we have a “long, long way to go”, there are “early signs of hope” in the number of daily Covid-19 cases being reported.

However, 63 additional coronavirus-related deaths were also reported yesterday, with five of these having occurred in November and one in December. Dr. Holohan said that while case numbers may be coming down, we can “expect to see hospitalisations, admissions to ICU and mortality related to Covid-19 increase day-on-day.”

It has been confirmed this morning that 1,838 people are currently being treated for Covid-19 in hospital and the CMO urged the public yesterday “to ensure our hospitals and loved ones remain protected, and stay alive to receive the vaccine, please continue to follow public health advice and stay home.”

Meanwhile, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has said that 4.2 million people are on track to be vaccinated by October, adding: “we expect to receive approximately 3.7 million does from April to the end of June and 3.8 million between July and the end of September. It is important to stress that our projections and timelines are constantly evolving as more vaccines are approved and delivery schedules finalised.”