There is a drop in number of people wearing face masks in Ireland, the HSE’s chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan said amid rise in Covid patients in the country. A study compared the mask wearing habit of Irish people in February- March this year with current situation and found a drop from 93% to 84%, Holohan pointed out while briefing Covid situation in the press conference. Yesterday the health department had confirmed further 1,571 cases of infection in Ireland.
“If you do are infected but do not have symptoms or have yet to develop symptoms, you can still spread the virus to others. Face masks help reduce this risk.
“By wearing a mask, you protect those around you.” Dr Holohan said while talking about the survey result.
“Please, continue to wear a mask in indoor settings like retail, on public transport and in restaurants and in crowded outdoor settings.
“This remains a simple but important measure that we all can take to prevent this virus spreading in our communities.” He added.
“On average, we have reported 1,814 confirmed cases of Covid-19 day for the last 5 days. Our 14-day incidence is now 526 per 100,000 population. This is an extremely high incidence of disease circulating in our communities.” Dr Holohan wrote on Twitter.
Professor Philip Nolan, chair of the NPHET Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group also indicated concerns over current rise in infection rate. He warned the country will reach the peak of current wave of infections soon.
“We have been living with COVID-19 restrictions for a significant period of time – it is now 542 days since we reported the first case of COVID-19 in Ireland.”
“Unfortunately, this disease continues to evolve and the very best way we can protect ourselves and each other is to continue to do our very best to follow the public health advice.” Prof. Nolan said.
Meanwhile the Health Minister Mr Stephen Donnelly indicated that the current restrictions would be lifted by Christmas. If so night clubs and live entertainment events could resume by the end of December. Though the Minister said the basic advice like mask-wearing and hand-washing would likely remain in place for the foreseeable future.
Earlier the artists performing live events had appealed government to give permission for their programmes.