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The number of people in hospital in Ireland with Covid-19 remains three times higher than at the peak of the second wave in October, a senior Government official has said.<\/p>\nThe number of people in hospital in Ireland with Covid-19 remains three times higher than at the peak of the second wave in October, a senior Government official has said.<\/p>\n
Liz Canavan, assistant secretary at Department of the Taoiseach, warned that while numbers are falling the country cannot afford them to level out at this point.<\/p>\n
She urged people to remember the health system is continuing to operate under \u201cintense pressure\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cHospital numbers are still at peak levels of wave two and we\u2019re still using surge capacity,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will have three times the number in hospital today as we had at the peak of wave two. We need to remember that.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile the numbers are falling we can\u2019t plateau at this point. We haven\u2019t come this far to only come this far.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor now the virus is still with us and with the new variant it is potentially more transmissible than ever and we must continue to keep our guard up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Canavan made the comments at a briefing in Government Buildings on Wednesday where she outlined that 1.7% of the population is fully vaccinated against Covid-19.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re now 50 days into the rollout of the largest vaccination program in the history of the state,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have delivered 4.9 vaccine doses per 100 people and 1.7% of our population is fully vaccinated.<\/p>\n
\u201cIreland is progressing well with our program compared to EU states and vaccines are being administered very quickly after their arrival in the country.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Canavan cautioned against people leaving the country for non-essential reasons as it is a breach of Level 5 restrictions, highlighting that the fine had increased from 100 to 500 euro.<\/p>\n
Despite the restrictions, she said more than half of the passengers arriving in the country are Irish residents, and two-thirds of those are returning from holiday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a very concerning statistic,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile we would all love and need a holiday, now is not the time to travel. Unless you are travelling for a specific essential purpose, please stay at home and follow the guidance.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said people who arrive in the country must quarantine but they can end the period of quarantine earlier than 14 days if they take a PCR test after five days.<\/p>\n
Regulations requiring a pre-departure negative PCR test for all passengers arriving from overseas have been extended so anyone who arrives without a test is obliged to take one on arrival.<\/p>\n
Ms Canavan said the same rules and obligations on testing and quarantine apply to people who arrive from overseas via Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n
She added that visa-free travel from Brazil and South Africa had been suspended, as had issuing of visas other than in exceptional circumstances.<\/p>\n
Ms Canavan told the briefing that that 481,000 people received the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) this week, up 1,698 on last week and at a cost of 144.6 million euro.<\/p>\n
She said around 5.8 billion euro had been paid under the scheme since last March.<\/p>\n
Since the last payment 11,000 people had closed their PUP claim, with 8,000 saying they were returning to work.<\/p>\n