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# Covid-19

Last week
12th March 2023 - 18th March 2023
# Coronavirus
HSE to launch survey to measure prevalence of long Covid in Ireland
People in Longford, Westmeath, Laois, Offaly, Kildare, West Wicklow and south Dublin will be invited to take part in the survey.
# Mercy University Hospital
Cork hospital advises patients to avoid ED due to Covid-19 and winter vomiting bug surge
Mercy University Hospital advised that ‘patients are and will continue to experience delays’.
Voices
Opinion: If global leaders can't agree on the origin of Covid then what hope for future crises?
As global superpowers continue their war of words over the origin of Covid, Seána Glennon says the lack of cooperation doesn’t bode well for the future.
This month
March 2023
# debunked
Debunked: No, the first man to receive Pfizer's Covid vaccine did not die because of the jab
William Shakespeare was the second person to receive the vaccine in December 2020.
# contact tracing
Covid Tracker app expected to be 'decommissioned' by this summer
The app cost €811,227 to launch with over €100,000 spent on support and development in the six months after it launched.
# Working Hours
Garda contingency roster introduced during Covid pandemic extended for six months
The contingency roster had been due to expire next month, but will remain in place until 3 September.
# Covid-19
HSE bought 10 times more ventilators than necessary, hundreds of which were unusable
The HSE spent €129 million on ventilators, buying nearly twice the number approved by the Department of Health.
# Covid-19
Former NPHET member: Long-term school closures were 'not required'
Professor Cormican was speaking this morning to RTÉ’s Brendan O’Connor.
# matt hancock
Leaked messages reveal Matt Hancock hit out at Sunak over ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ Covid scheme
The messages reveal Hancock had serious concerns about the scheme designed to support restaurants, dubbing it the ‘eat out to help the virus get about’.
# Covid-19
UK ministers reportedly considered culling pet cats at start of pandemic over health fears
‘What we shouldn’t forget is how little we understood about this disease,’ a former UK Health Department deputy told Channel 4 News.
# breda smyth
'Go back to doing the things you love': CMO writes post-pandemic open letter to older people
Prof Breda Smyth said she wanted to reassure people who were concerned about the spread of Covid that it is safe to go out and about.
# lab leak theory
FBI Director says origins of Covid-19 'most likely a potential lab incident in Wuhan'
In response, Beijing accused Washington of harming its own credibility with the claims.
Last month
February 2023
# Vaccines
Former NPHET member says mandatory Covid vaccines should have been considered
Professor Cormican also said that the intensity of lockdown measures meant that some vulnerable people were ‘effectively abandoned for months’.
# Coronavirus
US report concludes with 'low confidence' that Covid-19 'likely' originated from Wuhan lab
The classified report was delivered to senior figures on the US’s House and Senate Intelligence committees last month.
# Widower's Pension
Supreme Court to hear appeal against refusal to grant widower’s pension to an unmarried father
The Supreme Court panel said John O’Meara and his three children’s challenge raises points of general public importance.
# debunked
Debunked: There is no evidence that more 15-year-olds are dying of heart attacks due to vaccines
A claim shared on Irish social media suggests vaccines are killing 15-year-olds.
# Coronavirus
Six-month-old babies will be eligible for the Covid-19 vaccine from next week
Children aged six months to 4 years old can avail of the vaccine from Monday.
# debunked
FactFind: Does a new scientific review show masks are useless at stopping disease?
The conclusions of the review are surprising, but have been twisted by anti-mask campaigners online.
# Public Transport
Bus passenger numbers on public transport network return to pre-pandemic levels
In November 2022, Bus Eireann carried 3.5 million passengers, surpassing comparable figures from 2019.
January
January 2023
# pandemic
Three years on, WHO says Covid-19 is still a global emergency
The WHO first declared a so-called public health emergency of international concern on 30 January 2020.
# WHO
WHO panel debates Covid's emergency status and whether pandemic merits highest level of alert
The outcome will be issued early next week.
# factcheck
Debunked: London Police are not criminally investigating COVID-19 vaccines
Despite accusations of murder, terrorism, genocide, and torture, no credible evidence was given.
# respiratory illness
North Korea locks down capital over 'respiratory illness', report says
Residents of Pyongyang have been ordered to stay in their homes
# Recovery Files
Cash for reforms: €700 billion EU recovery fund sparks concern and criticism
Analysis by Noteworthy and European journalists finds that Ireland is among several member states who repackaged old promises in reform plans.
# flu season
Ireland has passed the peak of this year’s 'severe' flu season, according to the CMO
Flu cases have decreased by 48% in the past week.
# jacinda ardern
From Christchurch attacks to Covid: Key moments from Jacinda Ardern's reign as New Zealand PM
‘Jacindamania’ has given way in recent months, with recent polls putting the centre-right coalition ahead.
# stepping down
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announces shock resignation
Ardern said she would step down no later than 7 February because she no longer had ‘enough in the tank’.
# Transport
Used car prices jump by almost 70% - due to pandemic, Brexit and Ukraine - report says
In particular, used cars in the lower end of the market are becoming less affordable despite being lower in safety standards and higher in emissions.
# Trolley crisis
HSE boss: Flu, RSV and Covid figures at levels above Govt's 'most pessimistic modelling' for winter
Planning for next winter to begin early when health system is ‘over the worst’, says Stephen Mulvaney.
Health bosses will appear before the Oireachtas Health Committee today.
Covid, RSV and influenza continue to place significant pressure on GPs and hospitals.
HSE interim CEO to tell TDs that health service staff "do not believe this is acceptable".
Chief medical officer has not advocated for a mask mandate, says Taoiseach
Consultants warn of stark impacts for patients due to 'avoidable delays' in health system
# China
China reports almost 60,000 Covid-related deaths in a month
China has been widely accused of underreporting its number of coronavirus fatalities since the abandonment of its zero-Covid policy.
# XBB.1.5
We need to talk about the 'Kraken' variant: What is it, and do we know what impact it could have?
XBB.1.5 is uniquely good at breaking the ‘door’ to the human body, but it’s not clear how much of a surge in cases it could cause.
# factcheck
Debunked: Misleading graph used to argue that non-vaccinated people achieved ‘Zero Covid’
Unvaccinated people appear not to be affected by the disease — until you count deaths
# House Of Commons
Brexiteer MP Andrew Bridgen stripped of Tory whip for comparing vaccines to Holocaust
Fellow Tories as well as Holocaust remembrance groups have slammed Bridgen’s remarks on Covid-19 vaccines.
# Vaccines
Over 70% of workforce have received Covid vaccine and at least one booster, latest data shows
61% of employees have a first booster and 13% of employees in the state had a second booster.
# winter surge
Over 200 medicines unavailable in Ireland, including cough syrups and soluble painkillers
There is a major shortage of over-the-counter treatments for respiratory illnesses and bacterial infections.
# China
China ends quarantine for overseas travellers
Beijing last month began a dramatic dismantling of a strategy that had enforced mandatory quarantines and lockdowns.
# damar hamlin
Debunked: Claims that an NFL player collapsed due to a Covid-19 vaccine are completely unfounded
Multiple social media posts have incorrectly claimed that Hamlin’s collapse was caused by a Covid-19 vaccine.
# winter surge
Immunologist says stronger advice on mask-wearing needed amid surge in respiratory viruses
Professor Christine Loscher told The Journal that the Government “missed a trick” in not issuing stronger advice sooner.
# China
China slams 'unacceptable' Covid curbs on travellers from its territory
China’s steep rise in infections comes after Beijing abruptly lifted years of hardline restrictions last month.
# Emergency Departments
INMO calls for return of mandatory mask-wearing in crowded settings amid record trolley numbers
Over 931 patients are without beds in Irish hospitals today – the highest number since records began in 2006.
Covid-19 and influenza cases continue to increase rapidly, while notifications of RSV are also increasing
A consultant at University Hospital Limerick said "conditions in many instances are inhumane"
Services at several hospitals around the country are under extreme pressure