Tag Archives: NPHET

BISHOP of Killaloe, Fintan Monahan, has asked parish priests and pastoral councils not to set dates for communions and confirmations in the Diocese “for the near future”. It follows confirmation, received by the organisation representing Catholic bishops, that the government’s forthcoming guidance documents will expressly advise against these ceremonies. Writing to parents, priests and schools on Wednesday, Bishop Monahan said that “in view of the letter received from the HSE last week, the strong recommendation of NPHET… and the clear advice from the Taoiseach’s Office, I believe it would be very unwise to celebrate the sacraments in the coming weeks”. The Bishop acknowledged that cancelling these important occasions will be “very inconvenient at such short notice” and he asked for “patience and understanding”, in the interests of public health and safety. The Bishop’s letter also said that: “Because of the vulnerability of the virus situation and the evolving nature of the whole process it would, in my view be best …

The Health Protection Surveillance Centre has today been notified of 12 new cases of Covid-19 in Clare along with 45 additional deaths related to Covid-19. 41 of these deaths occurred in February, 4 in January. The median age of those who died was 84 years and the age range was 55-104 years. There has been a total of 4,181 Covid-19 related deaths in Ireland. As of midnight, Monday 22nd February, the HPSC has been notified of 575 confirmed cases of Covid-19. There is now a total of 216,300 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Ireland. Of the cases notified today: 272 are men / 298 are women 68% are under 45 years of age The median age is 32 years old 218 in Dublin, 38 in Galway, 35 in Louth, 27 in Limerick, 26 in Westmeath and the remaining 231 cases are spread across 20 other counties. As of 8am today, 693 Covid-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 150 are in …

THERE have been 16 new cases of Covid-19 notified in Clare, while there have been no new deaths reported to the Health Protection Surveillance Centre today. There has been a total of 3,948 Covid-19 related deaths in Ireland. As of midnight, Sunday, February 14, the HPSC has been notified of 821 confirmed cases of Covid-19. There is now a total of 210,402* confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Ireland. Of the cases notified today: 430 are male/ 389 are Female 70% are under 45 years of age The median age is 31 years old 333 in Dublin, 91 in Galway, 53 in Limerick, 41 in Kildare, 38 in Meath and the remaining 265 cases are spread across all other counties. As of 8am today, 916 Covid-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 157 are in ICU. 40 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours. As of Friday, February 12, 265,237 doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been administered in Ireland: 175,238 people have …

THERE have been 12 new cases of Covid-19 notified for County Clare today which brings the 14-day incidence to 138.9. The Health Protection Surveillance Centre notified 788 confirmed cases of the disease. There havc been 17 additional deaths related to Covid-19. 15 of these deaths occurred in February and 1 in December. The median age of those who died was 80 years and the age range was 50-92 years. There has been a total of 3,948 COVID-19 related deaths in Ireland. There is now a total of 209,582 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Ireland. Of the cases notified today: 409 are men / 371 are women 71% are under 45 years of age The median age is 31 years old 315 in Dublin, 61 in Galway, 59 in Meath, 42 in Louth, 33 in Kildare and the remaining 278 cases are spread across all other counties. As of 8am today, 899 Covid-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 160 are in …

HOSPITAL waiting lists look set to increase significantly again following the cancellation of the majority of scheduled surgery and outpatient appointments in public acute facilities amid concern from a local senator Covid-19 is spreading in Clare like “wildfire”. UL Hospitals’ Group has confirmed the deferral, until further notice, of the majority of scheduled surgery and outpatient appointments across the group. This includes University Hospital Limerick, Ennis Hospital, Nenagh Hospital, St John’s Hospital and Croom Orthopaedic Hospital. University Maternity Hospital Limerick is unaffected by the reductions. The number of Clare and Mid-West public in-patient and day case waiting lists soared from 4,198 in January 2020 to 6,612 last November, while the numbers on outpatients’ lists jumped dramatically from 47,134 to 55,088 during the same period. There has been an increase of almost 3,000 confirmed Covid-19 cases in the Mid-West from December 19 to January 3. According to official statistics, the number of positive cases in Clare jumped from 1,546 to 2,135; …

AS CLARE’S Covid-19 infection rate continues to rise, a busy family doctor has warned that many people, who should be self-isolating, in line with public health advice, are failing to do so and putting others at risk. Dr Yvonne Williams from Shannon said she was concerned that people who should be restricting their movements, while they have potential symptoms, are not listening to the advice of their GPs or the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET). ‘What I am finding is that people are still going out and about with coughs and other possible symptoms,” she said. “The truth is that you can’t say that something is just a sinus infection, or just a chest infection or a just a sore throat until you have a negative Covid-19 test. If you are unwell in any way, we have to treat that as Covid until it is proven otherwise.” Dr Williams also expressed concerns over turnaround times for tests which she …

CLARE’S Garda Chief Superintendent has acknowledged the frustration some people may experience as a result of check points set up as part of Operation Fanacht. The policing operation re-commenced on midnight October 6 when the country moved to Level 3 Covid-19 restrictions. Addressing the meeting of Clare’s Joint Policing Committee (JPC) last Monday, Chief Superintendent Seán Colleran noted that complacency had begun to set in in terms of following public health guidelines and that part of Operation Fanacht involved making people more aware of the restrictions currently in place. “All of us have become somewhat complacent,” the Chief Superintendent said. “The increase in the Covid-19 figures show this. We are making people more aware of the guidelines.” Currently, three static checkpoints are in place and members of the forces are engaging with the public on the M18 on the Limerick county boundary, as well as in Killaloe and Ennis. Staggered mobile checkpoints are also in use, the Chief Superintendent explained. …

THE head of the Dáil’s Covid-19 committee has questioned whether those who set the rules on curbing the virus understand how people really live their lives, insisting that the current approach is not working. In a sharp attack on government and the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET), Deputy Michael McNamara said a greater focus must be placed on educating people about how to live alongside the virus. Reacting to news that Gardaí are to be given enhanced powers to shut down pubs in breach of regulations, the Scariff man was highly critical of the government’s current policies. “We’ve had inspection, after inspection, after inspection,” he said. “On one weekend alone, Gardaí inspected 6,000 premises. At the same time, our infection rates continue to rise. In other countries, all pubs have been open all summer and yet we now have higher rates of Covid-19 than Sweden who avoided a lockdown. The policy seems to be that the beatings will continue …