Tag Archives: COVID-19

This afternoon.

District Magazine writes:

COVID-19 has put our future as a publication in jeopardy. We’ve launched a kickstarter for a new website, with some great rewards for backers. Meeting the target could mean the difference between District surviving or not.

District 2.0: We’re launching a new website and we need your help

District Magazine

RTÉ in Donnybrook, Dublin 4

Tomorrow.

RTÉ will launch a “virtual memorial wall”.

It reports:

RTÉ is working with funeral directors around the country to curate a website that will allow families to pay tribute to and remember loved ones who have died due to Covid-19.

The virtual memorial wall will be supported by special memorial segments on RTÉ One television and RTÉ Radio One.

…there will be small moments during the day when presenters on RTÉ television and radio “will recite the names of some of the loved ones who have passed.”

Ireland Remembers: Virtual memorial wall for loved ones (RTÉ)

Rollingnews

Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald

Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald has confirmed that she learned yesterday that she tested positive for Covid-19, after getting tested 16 days previous, on March 28.

More as they get it.

Previously: “Hidden From View”

The Wait Debate

Rollingnews

UPDATE:

In fairness.

RTÉ’s Health Correspondent Fergal Bowers 

This morning.

On RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, host Bryan Dobson spoke to RTÉs Health Correspondent Fergal Bowers about the latest Covid-19 developments.

In relation to the current movement restrictions which are set to be in place until May 5, Mr Bowers said:

“There’s no specific date in May, or otherwise, when restrictions will be lifted, or what restrictions will be lifted.

“We simply do not know so it is very uncertain at this point and people shouldn’t be expecting a lifting or a wide lifting of restrictions anytime in the near future I think, I’d say, given the briefings we had yesterday.

“And Covid-19 is going to be with us for the foreseeable future. I mean that means for the years ahead it will be there in the community somewhere, moving as influenza is but obviously Covid-19 poses a different threat, an unparalleled threat.

“And so social distancing will continue until a vaccine is available. And a vaccine won’t be available, certainly you would think, for a year or more.

“There may be some restrictions but only where the evidence points to that and also when the system has the capacity for rapid, speedy testing of people and follow-up contract tracing quickly, that’s crucial.

“So what will be looking at? We’ll be looking at, in order for any restrictions to be lifted, you’d want the infection rate out there to be down below one, so that’s where one person is infecting less than another person. So it’s not spreading in the community. You’d also want to see admissions to intensive care down.

“You’d want to think about what activity could be safely resumed, where social distancing can be exercised and what’s working in other countries. That will be crucial.”

Listen back in full here

Previously: Locking Down Our Civil Liberties

CEO of the HSE Paul Reid at a media briefing yesterday

On Sunday.

In the Business Post, Susan Mitchell reported:

Multiple media outlets have sought precise details of the extent of the testing backlog.

The HSE and the Department of Health have repeatedly refused to disclose this information. This is not because the information does not exist. It does.

In fact, detailed information on the backlog is collated and broken down by individual geographical areas called community healthcare organisations (CHO) within the HSE.

An official document dated March 27, but labelled confidential, laid it all out clearly. Back then, there was a testing backlog of just over 83,013 according to “information available” on March 23.

More up-to-date figures are certainly available. They’re simply being hidden from view.

Further to this…

Yesterday, CEO of the HSE Paul Reid told journalists that the backlog of Covid-19 tests has dropped from around 35,000 people waiting for results to 11,000.

He also said he expects the backlog to be fully cleared by the end of the week.

Anyone?

Susan Mitchell: Do not test the public’s patience by keeping the truth from them (Business Post)

Related: Coronavirus: Republic reports 31 further deaths as cases pass 10,000 (The Irish Times)

Previously: The Wait Debate

Nine Days Ago

Rollingnews

From top: How a HSE COVID-19 “Patient Management” app looked as of last Friday evening on the Apple Store; how it looks now

Yesterday.

As the HSE says it is continuing to carry out security and product testing of the CovidTracker Ireland App…

The Sunday Times reported that, on Saturday, the company behind a separate HSE app which tracks the oxygen saturation of Covid-19 patients, and which has been advertised on Apple Store for over a week, has removed its HSE branding.

The newspaper reported:

Yesterday PatientMPower, a company that has developed a clinical app for suspected Covid-19 cases — one that works with a pulse oximeter to track oxygen saturation of patients — removed all HSE branding from it on the Apple app store. Sources say this was to avoid confusion with a forthcoming HSE tracing and symptom tracker app.

The HSE said the solution provided by PatientMPower “facilitates the remote monitoring of patients who have been provided with an oximeter to monitor the level of oxygen saturation in the blood for Covid-19 patients”. The oximeter and access to the app is provided by clinicians.

“While the app can be downloaded, patients must have a username and password to use it. We have worked with PatientMPower to update the branding used for this existing app, to avoid any confusion with the CovidTracker Ireland app due to be released soon, so both are easy to identify,” it added.

The use of the PatientMPower app by a specific patient recovering from Covid-19 also briefly featured in reports on RTÉ’s Six One and Nine O’Clock News yesterday evening.

Restriction on Irish schools may be eased in May (The Sunday Times)

Meanwhile…

In The Guardian this morning…

A draft government memo explaining how the NHS contact-tracing app could stem the spread of the coronavirus said ministers might be given the ability to order “de-anonymisation” to identify people from their smartphones, the Guardian can reveal.

The health secretary, Matt Hancock, announced on Sunday that the UK planned to introduce an app that would enable people who developed Covid-19 symptoms to “anonymously” alert other users to whom they had been in close proximity. “All data will be handled according to the highest ethical and security standards, and would only be used for NHS care and research,” he said.

However, the government document seen by the Guardian, headed “official – sensitive” and “draft – not yet approved”, suggests the NHS privately considered using the technology to identify users.

…the memo stated that “more controversially” the app could use device IDs, which are unique to all smartphones, “to enable de-anonymisation if ministers judge that to be proportionate at some stage”. It did not say why ministers might want to identify app users, or under what circumstances doing so would be proportionate.

NHS coronavirus app: memo discussed giving ministers power to ‘de-anonymise’ users (The Guardian)

Previously: The CovidTracker App And You

Dear Mr Reid…

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar speaking at Government Buildings this afternoon

Just now.

At Government Buildings.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar announced that the restrictions he announced two weeks ago will continue for another three weeks until May 5.

Minister for Education Joe McHugh has also announced that schools will remain closed and will not reopen until health experts advise that it’s safe to do so.

Earlier, RTÉ’s Education Correspondent Emma O’Kelly reported that the Leaving Cert exams will take place in late July/early August while the Junior Cert exams will likely take place in September – subject to health advice.

Watch the Taoiseach’s speech live here or here

UPDATE:

Department of Health’s Covid-19 Health Surveillance Monitor as of yesterday; Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan giving his nightly Covid-19 briefing yesterday evening

Yesterday evening.

The Department of Health’s Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan gave his nightly Covid-19 briefing to journalists, saying:

“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, again thank you for being with us.

“Today we’re reporting to you that we have diagnosed an additional 500 – five, zero, zero – cases of Covid-19 bringing the number confirmed in this country to 6,574. And there have been an addition 28 deaths, bringing our total number of deaths to 263.

“Of those 28 deaths, 13 of them were males, 15 of them are females, and 19 of them, we have reports of an underlying medical condition.”

How are Covid-19 deaths in the Republic of Ireland calculated and recorded?

A Department of Health spokeswoman said:

“We count any death that involves a positive COVID-19 test, and we also include post-mortem positive COVID-19 tests.”

Separately, a spokeswoman from the Public Health Agency in Northern Ireland, when asked the same question, said:

“Deaths are recorded of patients who have died within 28 days of a positive test result, whether or not COVID-19 was the cause of death. By definition therefore, deaths where tests were not taken will not be included.

“The deaths may have taken place in a hospital setting, or in the community or a care home, but must have been reported to PHA by the Health and Social Care Trust to be included in the report.

“This reporting process allows a “real time” daily update of trends in COVID -19 deaths within each trust area. In this pandemic, public health professionals, policy makers and the public value an up to date, daily record of the number of deaths associated with COVID 19.”

The spokeswoman also confirmed that, like the Republic of Ireland, Northern Irish authorities also include the deaths of people whose remains test positive in a post-mortem.

View the Department of Healths’ Covid-19 dashboard here

Related: Coronavirus: Why death and mortality rates differ (BBC)