Covid 19 Part XXXV-956,720 ROI (5,952 deaths) 452,946 NI (3,002 deaths) (08/01) Read OP

The Department of Health has been notified of 1,466 new cases of Covid-19.

The number of people in hospital with the virus stands at 311 – down 17 from yesterday, while the number of people in ICU with the virus has also fallen since yesterday, from 59 to 58.

Think the salient point is Denmark has less than half the level of infection that Ireland has , so of course they can reasonably exit restrictions . This is obvious to you of course , but maybe Fintan does not see the full picture , or chooses not to .

Our level of vaccination will take longer to have an effect given our rate of infection .

@podgeandrodge has been asking why have our numbers not gone down with our high level of vaccines.

Our level of infection rose following UK 's peak because of our connections with that country .

Our levels continue to rise and are especially high in border counties , where in NI numbers remain stubbornly high despite fairly high vaccination numbers , along with a lower level of hospitalisations and deaths but still enough to put their hospitals and ICUs there under pressure .

I think the reason we will continue to have higher cases than other countries for the moment is because of this leaky border effect but it should keep reducing as their numbers start to go down .

It would be , but there was no blame attached in that post .

Shame that some are so focused on knocking any discussion without offering any semblance of discussion in return .

Now that's pathetic .

Is that true? With the vaccine uptake so high I’ve been assuming it’s fairly evenly distributed throughout the country.

If they have recently had Covid they don't need the vaccine, that might be a factor as obviously they have a higher percentage who have recently had it.

Looking at the data...

Of the cumulative number of confirmed cases in Donegal, the rate per 100,000 people is 11,667.04.

Of the cumulative number of confirmed cases in Waterford, the rate per 100,000 people is 6,456.58. 

The difference in cumulative cases is 5.2% of population.

The difference in cumulative vaccination is 15%.

So even if all those extra cases didn't get vaccinated and relied on infection-acquired immunity, there would still be a yawning gap.

Also, if they had amazing acquired immunity then their cases wouldn't be three times the national average.

The simplest explanation is that low vaccine coverage + exposure to less restricted UK => high case rate.

What's pissing people off is the fact we have such a high vaccine uptake but what are getting for it ?, a slow reopening that proves the goalposts been moved and the cowardess of the leaders who still have lingeting thoughts of the mess of Christmas 2020

The old "Triggered" non answer, how trite.

You are describing areas with 80%+ vaccination rates as "piss poor" when that level would be considered good pretty much anywhere in the world. Why not at least be honest about your motives here.

I think what we're getting for it is that we have around the tenth lowest case fatality rate in the world.

Is that a positive or negative use of the word groundhog day? I think things are somewhat positive with the fact we're pretty much close to 14 days with schools open and no sign yet of a big upsurge in cases. If it stays roughly like this during next week and during college reopening then we're likely in the clear for October 22nd

Attempts to try to answer questions about why levels are still high despite high vaccination levels are greeted with comments such as " pathetic " or " trite " , or assumptions that you want to " lockdown foreva" !

How dare we mention the UK except to praise or fawn !

Case numbers are higher in border areas especially . Spilling over from still high levels in NI , I said .

One only has to look at the incidence maps from the ECDC to see this !

Vaccination levels while high are obviously not high enough yet to cope with these high infection rates . Which is what you have been saying?

This is exactly what has been happening up in north. Their hospitals are still under severe pressure with Covid admissions and in ICU .

No blame just fact .

But yet this is still unacceptable to some who don't appear to have any explanation themselves as to why our cases remain higher than our EU counterparts who have similar levels of vaccination.

I keep hearing that line, much higher than the rest of Europe. It annoys me. It generally excludes the UK (people think leaving the Eu means leaving Europe)

What people really mean is we have high numbers compared to the rest of Eastern Europe. Spain, France, Portugal have peaked before us, but like them, we're on the downward trend.

I've no idea why we had a massive drop in that chart before increasing again. But as you know, cases are falling in Ireland and Western Europe, but increasing in Eastern Europe.

@AdamD All our waves have followed waves in the UK .

Why do you think that is ?

Perhaps it should

the paper suggests that testing of all people with mild symptoms, including the unvaccinated, would stop.

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/coronavirus-testing-regime-may-be-scaled-back-significantly-under-nphet-plans-1.4672025

BMI >40 is a risk indicator, this is a much smaller (excuse the pun) proportion of the population than many believe. The diet/fitness industry is however going to exploit this for years and the temperance movement will also be on board because anyone trying to loose weight will need to also moderate their drinking.