Drop in Covid cases welcome but too early to say numbers have flattened
2 14 To Coronavirus Has Of Country's People Risen 1,162 Incidence Rate The 100,000 Per However, Day
A professor of epidemiology says the drop in Covid-19 cases gives hope but it is too early to say if the numbers have flattened out.
There are 4,842 new cases after Friday's record high of 8,248 infections.
However, the country's 14-day incidence rate of coronavirus has risen to 1,162.2 per 100,000 people.
UCC Professor Patricia Kearney says lockdowns get cases down but we must check people coming into the country.
"We know that lockdown is working. They have worked before to bring the numbers down," said Prof Kearney.
"The challenge is what you do when the numbers start to drop down. What we have done in the past is we have opened up and the numbers come back up again.
"So, this time we need to do it differently. We need to get down and really eliminate community transmission.
"We also need to try and stop the virus coming into our country."
A senior member of Nphet believes the three confirmed cases of the South African Covid variant have been contained here.
The cases were reported on Friday and are all directly linked with travel from the country to Ireland.
The European Centre for Disease Control has warned the mutation could have increased transmissibility and research is ongoing to see if vaccines are effective against it.
Dr Cillian de Gascun, director of the National Virus Reference Laboratory, does not believe the new variant was passed on from the three people that were identified.
"The cases that we have identified here to date from December, they were identified in the setting in real time based on their travel history and thanks to our colleagues in hospitals around the country and in public health.
"The individuals themselves self-isolated in accordance with the guidance. We don't believe there has been any onward transmission.
Dr de Gascun said the new variants of Covid won't spread if people deprive them of the chance.
"While the emerging variants are concerning and it is important that we are vigilant, it is also important that people don't feel that the public health measures are futile.
"It is really important that people understand that we can bring these new variants under control in the same way as we brought the original virus under control."