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Coronavirus outbreaks in workplaces and colleges are causing concern, public health doctors in Ireland said.<\/p>\nCoronavirus outbreaks in workplaces and colleges are causing concern, public health doctors in Ireland said.<\/p>\n
More than 100 cases have been discovered at a university in Galway and a number of other people are awaiting test results.<\/p>\n
Deputy chief medical officer Dr Ronan Glynn said: \u201cWe simply cannot have that on a population level right now to continue to suppress the disease.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr Glynn said it was too soon to make plans for people to see each other at Easter.<\/p>\n
He said the focus was still on ensuring children could return to school.<\/p>\n
He recognized that those who have received a vaccination, such as people in residential homes, deserved to see a route out of lockdown after such a long time confined.<\/p>\n
There have been no new deaths reported to Ireland\u2019s Health Protection Surveillance Centre on Monday.<\/p>\n
As of midnight on Sunday, the health system had been notified of 821 confirmed cases of Covid-19.<\/p>\n
Dr Lorraine Doherty, clinical director of health protection at the HSE, warned against sacrificing all the gains made during the weeks of extra restrictions.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are concerned about the rise in infections in third-level (education).\u201d<\/p>\n
They continued to deal with workplace outbreaks.<\/p>\n
She said too many people were coming to work with symptoms and they were seeing infections in a range of workplaces.<\/p>\n
Not enough attention has been paid to two-meter social distancing, people were mingling during breaks or popping around plastic screens to chat, she added.<\/p>\n
A number of outbreaks are being dealt with in meat plants.<\/p>\n
The public health experts told a briefing: \u201cThere is simply too much disease in our communities still to advise people to be meeting up with one another.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr Glynn said, with the commencement of vaccination of people aged over 85 in the community, today marks a significant milestone as we seek to protect the most vulnerable from this pandemic.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is an extraordinary testament to science that less than one year since our first case in Ireland, we are now in the process of rolling out three effective vaccines.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe challenge now is to continue to suppress this disease so that as many people as possible can benefit from these vaccines over the coming months.\u201d<\/p>\n
As of Monday morning, the over-85s cohort began to receive their vaccines at selected GP practices.<\/p>\n
Dr Sumi Dunne, GP, said: \u201cThe level of vaccine confidence and enthusiasm for vaccination in this group has been widely reported, along with a sense of relief as hope for a normal life returns.\u201d<\/p>\n