The Taoiseach will be meeting the CMO next week to discuss the recent case rise and what situation is expected in the coming months.
1,377 new cases of Covid-19 have been reported in Ireland as Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said the situation regarding the Delta variant of the virus is “serious”.
The figures released from the Department of Health on Saturday did not contain information regarding deaths related to Covid-19.
The Department of Health’s statement said that the number of daily cases may also change due to future data validation.
78 Covid-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 22 are in ICU.
As of midnight, Friday 16th July, we are reporting 1377* confirmed cases of #COVID19.
22 in ICU. 78 in hospital.
*Daily case numbers may change due to future data review, validation and update.
— Department of Health (@roinnslainte) July 17, 2021
Speaking to reporters on Saturday, the Taoiseach said the recent rise in cases is “serious”.
“The situation is serious in respect of Delta and all of us have to be vigilant in terms of our individual behaviours, personal behaviour because this is a further twist on the road of Covid-19. It’s a serious one,” he said.
“There will be a high volume of cases and the case numbers will continue to grow. We’re going to keep a very close eye on the hospitalisation that results from that and illness that results from that and mortality, of course.
“What I would say to people is the fundamental objective is we want to prevent people from getting Covid and so, it’s important that people take it seriously from that perspective.
“Quite a number of cases develop into long Covid, develop into complications, which people do not want and do not need. So, we have to take the disease itself serious.”
The Taoiseach also said he will be meeting with Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Tony Holohan next week to discuss the case rise and “look at the situation out to August and into September”.
He stated: “If you look at 60% of the population vaccinated, 75% with a first dose, it’s a different type of scenario now than it would have been a year ago.
“So, I think we have to look at things afresh too and analyse where the prevalence is, the age cohorts and what strategies we deploy then to try and hold it back.
“I’ll be meeting with the Chief Medical Officer next week, with Philip Nolan and others, and government will meet on Wednesday and we’re going to give this very serious consideration in terms of how we plan for August and how we plan for September.
“It’s not a simple matter of doing the things we did a year ago that necessarily will sort it out this time. So, we’ll do that analysis. We’ll do that reflection.”
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