UPDATED: Tánaiste and Minister for
Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney has said that the Government is planning for what
will happen with COVID-19 in Ireland in the coming weeks and months "if as
some people fear this virus takes hold and spreads in a dramatic way". Speaking
on RTÉ's Claire Byrne Live about suggestions that up to 60% of the
population may get COVID-19, Mr Coveney said that the truth was no-one really
knows. (Professor McConkey said that the numbers of new cases fell in China
after they did a number of key things, namely they made sure essential services
continued, they ran an aggressive contact tracing programme and they had
a strict 'social distancing' in terms of reducing social interaction among the
population. In relation to 'social distancing' Professor McConkey said to do
that in Ireland would mean "not just closing St Patrick's Day [parades],
but- actually closing the pubs and closing the restaurants").
When asked if, as happened in China, 20% of those who contract the virus become seriously ill, Mr Coveney said the Government did not think that all- of those people would need to be treated in hospital.
However, he said that if
it comes to that more beds will be needed in existing hospital settings and
potentially elsewhere. Mr Coveney said efforts were underway to look at where
these could be provided and also whether beds in new hospital facilities could
be temporarily used for this purpose.
Mr Coveney said that should a figure of two million people contracting the virus materialise the primary focus would be on the most vulnerable and prioritising their care. Mr Coveney said that those figures sounded scary and the role of government was to provide the most effective response it can, and it sanctioned the expenditure of €3 billion, with €435 million for the HSE.
He said that the Government and agencies could not deal with the virus on their own and needed public cooperation. Mr Coveney said that he believed they could predict the kinds of pressures the health system could come under as the numbers increase. He said that the numbers of new cases in Ireland were in single digits each day, while in Italy an extra 750 people contracted the virus in one day. "We have to assume that those numbers are possible in Ireland too," Mr Coveney said, adding that they had to start planning ahead to anticipate that. Minister Coveney also confirmed that currently there are 60 people involved in contact tracing here and he said those numbers would need to increase.
Read more
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus/coronavirus-hits-politicians-sports-and-showbiz-stars-as-it-spreads-across-globe-idUSKBN2100CH
https://www.independent.ie/world-news/coronavirus/coronavirus-victims-to-be-immediately-buried-without-funeral-service-39031428.html
https://www2.hse.ie/conditions/coronavirus/at-risk-groups.html
Movement to be restricted all across Italy, prime minister announces
He was responding to comments made by Professor Sam McConkey, of the Department of International Health and Tropical Medicine at the Royal College of Surgeons. Speaking on the same programme, Professor McConkey suggested that 5,000 public sector workers be brought in to help with contact tracing.
Professor McConkey said that the numbers of new cases fell in China after they did a number of key things, namely they made sure essential services continued, they ran an aggressive contact tracing programme and they had a strict 'social distancing' in terms of reducing social interaction among the population.
In relation to 'social distancing' Professor McConkey said to do that in Ireland would mean "not just closing St Patrick's Day [parades], but- actually closing the pubs and closing the restaurants". He said in China they insisted everyone except for essential workers should stay home and only leave twice a week to do their shopping, and he asked if the Government here would be "up for that". Mr Coveney described that as a "future phase of response" but said he "wouldn't rule anything out".
Speaking on the same programme, Maternal Medicine Specialist Dr Carmen Regan said the Government was not being proactive or reactive enough and she called for travel restrictions, increased social isolation, and the closure of schools and museums. Dr Regan said that Ireland would be like Italy in eight weeks- time if the Government continued to do what it is doing now "which is nothing".
She cited Taiwan's experience in dealing with the virus, saying they implemented a series of measures, including restricting travel from Wuhan in China and social distancing, and they had 47 cases and one death. Mr Coveney said that looking at examples in other parts of the world was not the same as looking at what would happen within the single market of the European Union. He said that the Government has a Chief Medical Officer that it trusts and it is his advice that it follows.
ALSO READ:
https://drugsinfonewslineireland.wordpress.com/
When asked if, as happened in China, 20% of those who contract the virus become seriously ill, Mr Coveney said the Government did not think that all- of those people would need to be treated in hospital.
 |
| Tanaiste Simon Coveney. |
Mr Coveney said that should a figure of two million people contracting the virus materialise the primary focus would be on the most vulnerable and prioritising their care. Mr Coveney said that those figures sounded scary and the role of government was to provide the most effective response it can, and it sanctioned the expenditure of €3 billion, with €435 million for the HSE.
He said that the Government and agencies could not deal with the virus on their own and needed public cooperation. Mr Coveney said that he believed they could predict the kinds of pressures the health system could come under as the numbers increase. He said that the numbers of new cases in Ireland were in single digits each day, while in Italy an extra 750 people contracted the virus in one day. "We have to assume that those numbers are possible in Ireland too," Mr Coveney said, adding that they had to start planning ahead to anticipate that. Minister Coveney also confirmed that currently there are 60 people involved in contact tracing here and he said those numbers would need to increase.
Read more
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus/coronavirus-hits-politicians-sports-and-showbiz-stars-as-it-spreads-across-globe-idUSKBN2100CH
https://www.independent.ie/world-news/coronavirus/coronavirus-victims-to-be-immediately-buried-without-funeral-service-39031428.html
https://www2.hse.ie/conditions/coronavirus/at-risk-groups.html
Movement to be restricted all across Italy, prime minister announces
He was responding to comments made by Professor Sam McConkey, of the Department of International Health and Tropical Medicine at the Royal College of Surgeons. Speaking on the same programme, Professor McConkey suggested that 5,000 public sector workers be brought in to help with contact tracing.
Professor McConkey said that the numbers of new cases fell in China after they did a number of key things, namely they made sure essential services continued, they ran an aggressive contact tracing programme and they had a strict 'social distancing' in terms of reducing social interaction among the population.
In relation to 'social distancing' Professor McConkey said to do that in Ireland would mean "not just closing St Patrick's Day [parades], but- actually closing the pubs and closing the restaurants". He said in China they insisted everyone except for essential workers should stay home and only leave twice a week to do their shopping, and he asked if the Government here would be "up for that". Mr Coveney described that as a "future phase of response" but said he "wouldn't rule anything out".
Speaking on the same programme, Maternal Medicine Specialist Dr Carmen Regan said the Government was not being proactive or reactive enough and she called for travel restrictions, increased social isolation, and the closure of schools and museums. Dr Regan said that Ireland would be like Italy in eight weeks- time if the Government continued to do what it is doing now "which is nothing".
She cited Taiwan's experience in dealing with the virus, saying they implemented a series of measures, including restricting travel from Wuhan in China and social distancing, and they had 47 cases and one death. Mr Coveney said that looking at examples in other parts of the world was not the same as looking at what would happen within the single market of the European Union. He said that the Government has a Chief Medical Officer that it trusts and it is his advice that it follows.
ADDITIONAL
TEXT:
SALEM, Ore.
(AP) — They often don't have places to wash their hands, struggle with health
problems and crowd together in grimy camps.
That's what makes homeless people
particularly vulnerable to the coronavirus. Almost 200,000 people live in those
conditions in the United States, according to a White House report, with
Washington state, California and Oregon among the states most affected by
homelessness as income inequality grows and housing costs rise.
And — in a possible recipe for disaster
— the new virus has hit hardest on the West Coast, where nearly all of the
nation's deaths have occurred. Health officials have not yet reported coronavirus
outbreaks among homeless populations, but tuberculosis and other diseases have
swept through them in the past, underscoring their vulnerability.
Yet few communities that are trying to
contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus have rolled out plans to protect the
homeless and give them a place to recover in isolation, which would prevent
them from passing it on.
"They are double risk. One is a
risk to themselves, the other is a risk to society,” said Chunhuei Chi,
director of the Center for Global Health at Oregon State University in
Corvallis.
King County, which includes Seattle and
has seen most of the deaths in the U.S., is one of the few places that's taken
action: installing more than a dozen module units where infected homeless
people can recover, some on county-owned land flanked by apartment buildings.
The units, roughly the size of a mobile home that accommodate several people,
were previously used by oil workers in Texas. County officials also bought a
motel where coronavirus patients can recover in isolation.
That approach needs to be replicated in
many more places, said Chi, who has been closely following the global outbreak
that originated in China.
“This should be treated as an emergency
policy, not as a permanent solution to homelessness, but more of framing it as
a solution for containing the spread,” Chi said.
San Francisco says it's developing a
plan to protect the homeless from the virus but hasn't released details yet. A
cruise ship believed to be a breeding ground for more than 10 cases has been
lingering off the coast of the city.
San Francisco postponed an event
Thursday at a major arena that was to provide community services for the
homeless. It typically draws up to 1,000 people and was delayed to reduce the
risk of exposing the homeless population to coronavirus "because they are
older as a group and typically have multiple chronic medical conditions,” the
city said in a statement.
Farther south, in Los Angeles County,
the health department is sending teams to over 300 homeless facilities to
ensure people are washing their hands and not sharing food or utensils,
department director Barbara Ferrer said. She's urging shelters to prepare large
spaces to isolate those who may become sick.
Health officials in the nation's most
populous county also are planning for a possible large-scale quarantine of
homeless people in case the virus spreads and will deploy street teams to work
with those living in encampments to get people with symptoms treated.
Ferrer noted that health officials tell
people to stay home when they’re sick, to wash their hands often and call their
doctors with concerns.
“My heart goes out to the fact that they
live in conditions that make it almost impossible for them," she said of
the homeless Friday.
In Oregon's capital city, where a
makeshift homeless camp has sprouted up on downtown Salem sidewalks, an agency
that aids the homeless is bringing in hand-washing stations.
“The homeless population in our
community would be in a very difficult position of following all the health
care advice that's coming out right now,” said Jimmy Jones, executive director
of the agency Community Action. “If you're in a homeless camp, it's very
difficult to wash your hands. It's very difficult to stay clean. It's very
difficult to practice good hygiene.”
A homeless man in a long gray coat who
was walking along a sidewalk in Salem said he is not particularly worried about
the coronavirus.
Still, the man, who would only give his
first name, Alex, and his age, 33, asked what areas it had spread to and how
quickly it progresses in an infected person.
ENDSALSO READ:
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(YOUR HELPLINE LINKS): https://www.drugfreeworld.org/
& www.drugs.ie
& www.drugscope.org.uk
& www.spunout.org
& www.childline.org.uk/
& www.youngminds.org.uk/
& https://www.cybersafeireland.org/about-us/
If you or
someone you know has been affected by mental health issues you can contact:
·
Samaritans - 116 123, text 087 2609090 or email
jo@samaritans.ie
·
Pieta House (Suicide & Self-harm) - 1800 247 247 or 01
623 5606
·
Aware (Depression, Bi-Polar Disorder & Anxiety) - 1800
80 48 48
·
Grow (Mental Health support & Recovery) - 1890 474 474
·
Bodywhys (Eating Disorders Associations of Ireland) - 1890
200 444
·
Childline (for under 18s) - 1800 66 66 66.
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