Galway Bay fm newsroom – The Health Protection Surveillance Centre has today been notified of 90 additional deaths related to COVID-19.

89* deaths occurred in January.

The median age of those who died is 83 years and the age range is 48-99 years.

There has been a total of 3,066** COVID-19 related deaths in Ireland.

As of midnight, Monday 25^th January, the HPSC has been notified of 928 confirmed cases of COVID-19. There is now a total of 189,851 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ireland. 

Of the cases notified today:

• 418 are men / 506 are women
• 50% are under 45 years of age
• The median age is 44 years old
• 257 in Dublin, 115 in Cork, 71 in Louth, 53 in Galway, 45 in Limerick and the remaining 387 cases are spread across all other counties*** 

As of 2pm today, 1,750 COVID-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 216 are in ICU. 65 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours.

Dr Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health, said:

“Today we are reporting a further 90 deaths, bringing our cumulative total of lives lost to COVID-19 to more than 3,000 in Ireland. This highly infectious disease is having a severe impact on the most vulnerable in our society and we must continue the good work we are doing to suppress it.

“The decline in daily incidence of COVID-19 has begun, however the volume of disease in our communities remains very high. To date we have reported 96,000 cases in January 2021, which has already passed the total of 93,500 cases reported in 2020. Indeed, public health doctors in the Midlands reported a total of 4,000 cases in the first 8 months of 2020 and another 4,000 cases in the first four weeks of 2021.

“Through our enhanced public health surveillance programme, we have identified 6 additional cases linked to the Southern African variant of concern. All cases are being followed up by public health teams in line with the latest ECDC guidance published on the 21^st January.

“The downturn in incidence has been achieved through the determination of people across the country to stay at home, to work from home and to avoid meeting and socialising with others. It is imperative that everyone continues to strictly adhere to the public health advice to protect ourselves and our loved ones from this highly-infectious disease.”

The COVID-19 Dashboard provides up-to-date information on the key indicators of COVID-19 in the community.

ENDS//

*There is one death where the date of death is under investigation.

**Validation of data at the HPSC has resulted in the denotification of 1 death. The figure of 3,066 deaths reflects this.

***County data should be considered provisional as the national Computerised Infectious Disease Reporting System (CIDR) is a dynamic system and case details are continually being validated and updated.

• 7 Day Incidence is 273.8
• 5-day moving average is 1,591

Today’s cases, 14-day incidence rate per 100,000 population and new cases in last 14 days (as of midnight 25 January 2021) (incidence rate based on Census 2016 county population)

~The 5-day moving average of the number of new cases provides an appropriate indicator of current daily case numbers within a county. It takes account of any validation of cases for previous days and smooths out daily/weekend fluctuations in case numbers.

Galway Bay fm newsroom

Statement by An Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, Government Buildings, 26 January 2021

The Government met today to consider a number of issues relating to the public health situation.
The first thing to say is that the current level 5 restrictions are having a positive effect on the profile of the disease in the country.  We are seeing the total weekly cases, 5 day average cases and the 14 day incidence rates all coming down.  Close contacts are also coming down.
The sacrifices that people are making in their homes, in their families, in their businesses and within their communities are bringing us in the right direction, and I would like to thank everyone for their efforts to date.
Unfortunately, making progress on the incidence of the disease is not enough and the rates across all age groups are still too high.
We still have very high numbers of people in hospital and in intensive care, we have implemented the National Critical Care Surge Plans, and we simply must reduce the numbers of people needing these services. Our hospitals are under enormous pressure and we must protect the women and men of our health service who continue to put themselves on the line for all of us every day and every night.  
It is very clear to everyone now, all across the EU, that the  emergence of new variants of the disease represents a dangerous development.
We cannot give the virus or its variants any space.
Therefore, Government has decided to extend all of the current level 5 restrictions until 5th March, with a view to crushing the numbers of those contracting the disease and in turn, the numbers needing hospitalisation and ICU.
The message to people for the next six weeks is very simple: STAY AT HOME.
Do not travel.
Do not make any journeys outside of your 5km unless you absolutely have to. Hold firm and stick to the basics.
Another important issue that we have been examining is the issue of travel into the country.
I understand the appeal of the idea that there is a simple answer to the pandemic in our country.  We just pull up the drawbridge and we’ll be back to normal in no time.
However, the truth is that there is no easy way through this pandemic, or out of it.
The number of travellers coming into our country has absolutely collapsed and we have taken a number of decisions today designed to further suppress that number, which I will explain in a moment.
But I first want to reinforce the key message that the most important thing we can do to drive down infections is to STAY HOME and follow the basics around social distance and hand hygiene.   
As I said before, people should not be travelling and the Government has made a number of decisions today to further restrict travel and to mitigate the risk of new variants coming into the country: There should be no non-essential travel.  Non essential travel outside of 5km is a clear breach of the level 5 restrictions.
Additional Gardaí will be deployed to our ports and airports and those found to be in breach of this regulation will be subject to an increased fine of €500.
All visa free short term travel from South Africa and all of South America is suspended until at least 5th March.
Mandatory quarantine at a designated facility will be required for passengers who arrive in breach of the pre-departure negative PCR requirement.  They will also be subject to a fine of €2,500 and / or six months imprisonment.
Similarly, mandatory quarantine at a designated facility will be required for persons who arrive from Brazil and South Africa.
In other cases, passengers will be required by law to quarantine at home.
Application of these measures to passengers who are not EU/EEA citizens can be introduced by regulations.  For all other passengers, it will be necessary to amend primary legislation.  The detailed legislative work to implement this will get under way immediately.
These regulations will apply to anyone who travels into the Republic from any port or airport on the island, including port and airports in Northern Ireland and policing of the regulations will be increased significantly.
The restrictions on people’s movement and people’s freedom are exceptionally difficult.  
The true toll that they are taking on people’s mental health and well being is as yet unknown, but it is significant.
Now, more than ever, all of us who have a leadership role – across the political spectrum, in the media, in communities, everyone in society – we must stay focussed on the measures that will bring the disease under control and which we as country are in a position to deliver.
The road we are on is hard.
The length of time that we have had to live with restrictions and the proximity of vaccination makes it even harder.
But it is the road we must take, together.
We have done it before and we can do it again.

Galway Bay fm newsroom – The Saolta Hospital Group has been slammed in the Seanad over a shocking lack of progress being made on a new emergency department at University Hospital Galway.

The matter was raised by Senator Sean Kyne, who pointed out that then-Taoiseach Enda Kenny told the Dáil in 2015 that the current unit was not fit for purpose.

However, he contended that six years later, it’s been nothing but repeated delays, with the project appearing to be years away from being realised.

He pointed out that a planning application was set to be lodged in late 2018 – yet we’re now in 2021 and an application isn’t even on the horizon.

Speaking in response, Minister Niall Collins acknowledged the situation but was unable to provide an answer as to when an application might be lodged.

Fine Gael Senator Kyne was scarcely able to contain his frustration as he slammed the “abject failure” of the Saolta Hospital Group to progress the vital project.