The number of Covid-19 outbreaks in nursing homes increased sevenfold last week, as cases spiked among older age groups.
There were 56 new outbreaks in nursing homes up to January 2nd, compared to seven the previous week, according to the Health Service Executive.
Hospital outbreaks increased from eight to 22. Moreover, about 15,000 healthcare workers are out of work at present, largely due to the disease, according to HSE chief executive Paul Reid.
This meant the health service is tackling the current wave of cases “with one arm tied behind our backs”, he said on Thursday. Mr Reid added that there were “encouraging signs” from testing, with a significant recent reduction in GP referrals for PCR testing.
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On Thursday, the Department of Health reported 18,904 confirmed cases of Covid-19.
There are 1,011 patients in hospital who have been diagnosed with the virus. But the rate of increase has begun to slow in recent days after rising rapidly since Christmas.
Mr Reid said about 30 per cent of these patients “were admitted for something else”. The proportion of coronavirus patients who are not primarily in hospital because of the virus has increased, he said, having been about 10 per cent before Christmas.
Asymptomatic but infectious, these patients still need to be isolated and have their contacts traced, he said.
Forty per cent of patients with the disease in hospital have not been vaccinated, including at least 48 per cent of the 92 people in intensive care.
Mr Reid said 715,000 people are eligible to receive boosters but have not yet done so, though the true number was about 685,000 when account was taken of people who have had the virus that was not confirmed by a PCR test and who would not yet be able to receive a booster.
Across all community care facilities, there were 129 new outbreaks last week, up 94 in a week.
One-in-four facilities now has an outbreak, and 2,004 staff are on Covid-19 related leave linked to outbreaks in older people’s services, said officials.
HSE chief operating officer Anne O’Connor said most outbreaks were small but there are also some “more significant” outbreaks.
While 57 per cent of cases in the past two weeks were among under-35s, the number in over-65s has spiked, according to Colm Henry, HSE chief clinical officer.
One in 16 people have had a positive PCR test since the beginning of January, said Dr Henry.
The rate of people asking for booster doses has slowed since before Christmas. In the four days before Christmas, 400,000 people came forward for their booster; now, it is averaging about 200,000 per week.
Hospitals, particularly those in the west and southwest have experienced a surge in congestion over the past week, according to Ms O’Connor.
What about elective work?
Up to 400 beds have had to be closed for Covid-related reasons and 12 per cent of ambulance staff are off work. Because of these difficulties, very little elective work was being carried out and “just a trickle” in hospitals in the west.
There is a risk of some vaccines expiring in the coming weeks, though this was less likely if uptake increases, according to HSE head of vaccination rollout Damien McCallion.
New rules to come into force on Friday will allow people to submit the results of a positive antigen test to the HSE online, with no requirement for a confirmatory PCR test.
Asked if this system could be open to abuse, Mr McCallion replied the submission of data was for public health use “and not for anything else”. Anyone seeking a certificate of recovery was required to provide the results of a PCR test or a professionally administered antigen test, he added.
No one has approached the HSE to provide free masks as part of the changes in testing and isolation periods, said Mr Reid.
Meanwhile, in Northern Ireland a further 14 people who previously tested positive for the disease have died.
On Thursday, the North’s Department of Health said another 2,980 confirmed cases were recorded in the latest 24-hour reporting period. This morning there were 424 Covid-positive patients in hospital, with 28 in intensive care.
