Coronavirus: People will have to get used to ‘new normal’, Holohan warns

People will have to get used to a “new normal” in behaviours as society comes to terms with Covid-19 in the long term, chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan has warned.

Society will have to develop new behaviours "that are not part of how we used to do things", he told the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) briefing on Tuesday.

It will become “socially unacceptable” for people to go to work or school with cold or flu symptoms, he said.

“The message will be, almost like smoking in company, this is something we don’t do anymore. We have to get used to a new normal.”

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The deaths of another 59 patients diagnosed with Covid-19 were reported by NPHET at its briefing, of which 45 were laboratory-confirmed.

The deaths occurred on 10 different days in the past fortnight, though most were in the last three days.

There have now been 1,159 Covid-19 related deaths in the Republic.

NPHET also reported 229 new confirmed cases. The total number of confirmed cases now stands at 19,877.

As of Monday, 153,054 tests for the disease had been carried out. Over the past week, 41,470 tests were performed and of these 5,335 were positive, giving a positivity rate of 12.9 per cent.

An analysis of deaths shows 47 per cent occurred in hospital, including 5.8 per cent in intensive care, while 86 per cent had underlying conditions.

Men accounted for 53 per cent of deaths; the median age of fatalities was 83 years and the mean was 81.

An analysis of 19,383 cases up to last Sunday shows 58 per cent were female and 42 per cent male. The median age of confirmed cases was 49 years.

ICU

Some 2,638 cases (14 per cent) were hospitalised and, of these, 358 were admitted to ICU.

The number of healthcare worker cases now stands at 5,414.

Dublin accounts for half of all cases, followed by Kildare and Cork, which each account for 6 per cent.

Community transmission accounts for 63 per cent of cases, close contacts for 33 per cent and foreign travel for 4 per cent.

Dr Holohan said 141 patients are currently in intensive care, while 162 confirmed cases had been discharged from ICU. Some 83 per cent of admissions to ICU had underlying conditions and the median age of patients was 60 years.

Dr Holohan said there was still “a long way to go” in terms of improved numbers of cases, ICU admissions and deaths before restrictions could be eased.

Recommendations on the wearing of masks was one of the measures under consideration by NPHET this week

He urged the public to “stay the course” while adding that he understood that some people’s patience was “wearing thin” with the Government-imposed restrictions on movement and closures.

Rejecting any suggestion NPHET was “blaming” people for breaking the restrictions, he said there has been a “huge level” of compliance but it was important to “keep that up”.

There were still more than 140 people in ICU and large numbers in hospital with Covid-19, while high numbers of people were being diagnosed with the disease, he said. “We’re not down to a low enough level yet.”

Asked why the incidence of the virus is so high in Co Cavan, HSE chief clinical officer Dr Colm Henry said there were a number of factors including an outbreak in the hospital and cases in residential facilities and congregated settings. “It doesn’t appear to be directly related to it being a border county.”

Dr Holohan said recommendations on the wearing of masks was one of the measures under consideration by NPHET this week. If such a recommendation were to be made, efforts would be made to ensure the supply of healthcare-grade masks for health staff and patients was protected.