“We have to live with the threat of it”.

That’s the latest advice from Acting Chief Medical Officer Dr Ronan Glynn, as he asked the public “to cut down their discretionary activity so the important things can get up and running”.

The Department of Health reported 147 new cases of Covid-19 last night, bringing the number of confirmed cases in Ireland to 28,116.

There were no further deaths.

A worrying 73 of the new cases were in Dublin, where the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) are monitoring the situation carefully. A total of 27 coronavirus patients are currently being treated in Irish hospitals.

Dr Glynn said that the recommendations made by the NPHET last week were designed “to decrease congregations in some settings because we want to protect our ability to congregate in other settings.

“We want to protect the ability for children to congregate in schools, protect the ability for people to go and to use our healthcare services and to protect the most vulnerable across the society, but we can only do that if we can all act collectively together,” he said.

Dr Glynn also warned that complacency is a serious threat; “if we allow the numbers to increase, it will only be a matter of time before it spreads into other groups.” he added.

“And even leaving that aside, we need to get it back down. Because for anyone whether you’re fit or healthy, whether you’re 20, 30, 40, or 50 years of age, if you get this it’s very unpredictable what your personal outcome from this will be. Many people are suffering from chronic fatigue and other chronic effects of this disease.”

Ireland ‘well-positioned’ to secure Covid-19 vaccine

Meanwhile, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has said that Ireland is ‘well-positioned’ to secure a Covid-19 vaccine when a safe one becomes available.

The government has been working hard to ensure Ireland is best placed to secure a Covid-19 vaccine when a safe one becomes available. There has been good progress on this as I explain in this video. This is great news, but in the meantime please follow public health guidelines. pic.twitter.com/7FYOC9qHqB

— Stephen Donnelly (@DonnellyStephen) August 24, 2020

“There has been good progress on this as I explain in this video.” Minister Donnelly tweeted.

“This is great news, but in the meantime please follow public health guidelines.”