A very concerning development.

Ireland’s plan to end all but a few Covid restrictions on October 22nd is in jeopardy, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has admitted.

With over 400 people in hospital due to the virus, the Taoiseach has said that Ireland has taken a “wrong turn.” October 22nd had been signposted as the date that Ireland would reopen fully, doing away with even the most fundamental anti-Covid measures, such as wearing masks indoors, and social distancing requirements.

Speaking yesterday, the Taoiseach said “there was a meeting of senior officials this morning chaired by my Secretary General. The presentation by deputy chief medical officer was a serious one. The trajectory of the disease has taken a wrong turn. There has been a sudden increase in the last week of case numbers. I think we’re looking at over 2,000 case numbers today.

“They want to see more data. They want to analyse this a bit more. And so we’re going to reflect on it. And we will engage with the public health authorities and the HSE in the lead up to next week and we will make a final decision closer to that date.”

Martin said that it was now up to the public to “knuckle down” and “realise that Covid has not gone away.” The point was hammered home by the Taoiseach’s refusal to guarantee an October 22nd reopening, as he said that “no decisions have been made.”

Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr. Ronan Glynn has attributed the increase in cases, hospitalisations and deaths to the section of the public who have not been vaccinated. On Twitter, Glynn wrote: “Unfortunately, there are still just under 300,000 adults who have not come forward for vaccination and a further 70,000 people have received just one dose of a two-dose schedule.

“The spread of disease in these 370,000 people is having a disproportionate impact on the profile of #COVID19 in our hospitals and intensive care units, with two out of every three people in intensive care not vaccinated.” 

2,066 cases of Covid were confirmed yesterday, as well as 26 deaths over the past seven days.