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People who visited nursing homes should not feel they are to blame for spreading coronavirus, the Chief Medical Officer has said.<\/p>\nPeople who visited nursing homes should not feel they are to blame for spreading coronavirus, the Chief Medical Officer has said.<\/p>\n
There have been 857 deaths associated with residential care facilities, including 740 nursing home residents, according to the latest figures from the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET).<\/p>\n
Ireland\u2019s coronavirus death toll has risen to 1,429 after a further 27 deaths were announced by the NPHET.<\/p>\n
There have been 156 new confirmed cases of the virus, taking the total in Ireland since the outbreak began to 22,541.<\/p>\n
Dr Tony Holohan stressed that visitors did not bring the virus into the settings and they should not feel responsible for the outbreaks that have taken place in nursing homes.<\/p>\n
Speaking at a Department of Health briefing today, he said: \u201cIt gives me disquiet because individuals who visited in that time period know who they are\u2026 they are people who visited their loved ones in those nursing homes and there is a sense of blame attached to them and they feel some responsibility for something they did not do.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven if it was the case that visitors brought the infection into nursing homes \u2013 this is a highly transmissible virus. It is more transmissible than flu and we see flu getting into nursing homes and causing the same sort of pattern every winter.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to advise the public, individuals are not responsible for the spread of this infection \u2013 it is important that some people who visited nursing homes should not feel some sense of implicit blame if they visited their loved ones in a time period where we don\u2019t believe the infection got into nursing homes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some 120 cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed among children under the age of four, it was confirmed this evening.<\/p>\n
Dr Holohan said there have been 120 cases of Covid-19 among children aged between 0-4 while there have been 108 cases among children aged five to nine years of age.<\/p>\n
In children aged between 10-14, there have been 145 cases.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Education Minister Joe McHugh confirmed this year\u2019s Leaving Certificate examinations will be suspended, with students given calculated grades instead.<\/p>\n
Students who do not wish to accept the calculated grades will be able to sit the exams at a later date when the pandemic eases.<\/p>\n
However, Mr McHugh said this may happen in the autumn or \u201cwhenever it is safe\u201d for the exams to be held.<\/p>\n
Dr Holohan said the cancellation provides students with clarity, and said the Department of Education followed public health advice.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has provided clarity for students. The department assessed whether they could comply with the guidance we set out and what challenges it would represent for them.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey have done what we recommend other sectors do \u2013 internalize the advice that we have in terms of what they need to run exams.\u201d<\/p>\n
When asked if he told the Department of Education to cancel the exams, he said the cancellation was in line with his team\u2019s advice.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have no expertise in the running of exams,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n