A number of Covid-19 cases involving the Delta-plus variant have been identified in Ireland, as the chief executive of the HSE has appealed to the unvaccinated to reconsider their decision.
45 cases of the Delta-plus variant have been confirmed in the Republic, according to the latest update on variants of concern from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC).
The variant is an offshoot of the already highly-infectious Delta variant which is currently dominant in Ireland.
On Friday the country recorded more than 2,000 new infections for the second time in a week, bringing the total weekly figure to roughly 10,000.
Issuing an appeal to those who have decided not to be vaccinated against the disease, HSE chief Paul Reid said their decision puts both themselves and others “at much higher risk”.
You may decide to ignore strong advice today from many of the top medics in the country. But please don't dismiss it. If, as an adult, you decide not to be vaccinated, you do put yourself and others at much higher risk. We won't leave anyone behind & it's never too late.@HSELive
Advertisement— Paul Reid (@paulreiddublin) August 21, 2021
“You may decide to ignore strong advice today from many of the top medics in the country,” he tweeted.
“But please don't dismiss it. If, as an adult, you decide not to be vaccinated, you do put yourself and others at much higher risk.
“We won't leave anyone behind and it's never too late.
Walk-in vaccines and testing
Walk-in vaccination centres are once again being rolled out across the country this weekend. Most will offer the second doze of Pfizer and a smaller number will offer the Moderna jab.
The HSE's national lead for the vaccination rollout, Damian McCallion, said it is important to check online for the right clinic, as different doses are being administered at different centres.
“Check HSE.ie, check which vaccine that they need to get their dose for in terms of dose two, or if they’re a new person who’s looking to be vaccinated, to come forward,” he said.
“And we would encourage as many people as possible, particularly for dose one, to come forward. Part of the objective of this weekend is to really again give people more opportunity to be vaccinated.”
Walk-in Covid test centres are also operating in every county in Ireland, with free testing and no appointment or referral required.
The testing is available Monday to Saturday in Laois and Longford, Monday to Friday in Leitrim, and every day of the week including weekends in all other counties.
Information about walk-in testing opening hours is available at HSE.ie, and those attending should bring photo ID and provide a mobile phone number to get their result by text.
For the second time in a week, we are reporting over 2,000 cases. We haven’t seen this number of cases since late January 2021. This is a concerning indication of the level of #COVID19 circulating in our communities.
— Dr Tony Holohan (@CMOIreland) August 20, 2021
The country’s chief medical officer is reminding people to socialise safely this weekend amid high rates of community transmission.
Figures released this morning show 259 people in hospital with the virus, and 54 in intensive care.
UCC virus expert, Professor Liam Fanning, told Newstalk radio that the high number of cases is problematic.
“Where those infections are of concern is the capacity to pass it on both to the vaccinated and to other unvaccinated individuals. This is an endemic virus amongst the unvaccinated largely at the moment,” he said.
“Each of those 10,000 cases will end up in a small number ending up in hospital, and social responsibility and care for yourself and others, through social distancing and getting vaccinated, are what you can do to try and reduce those numbers.”
