Taoiseach said he is 'concerned but hopeful' amid emergence of new variant

Micheál Martin has said he is “concerned but hopeful” about the Covid-19 situation in Ireland amid the emergence of the new Omicron variant, as he received a booster jab in Cork.

An Taoiseach said on Friday December 10 that he hoped the HSE could deliver 1.5 million booster jabs before the end of the year.

Mr Martin, speaking at Cork City Hall where he paid tribute to HSE staff, re-iterated that the uncertainty of the pandemic meant nothing could be ruled out.

“We have a series of restrictions in place now to the 9th of January. That was agreed by Government following advice from the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET).

“One can never rule out anything in relation to Covid-19 because there are many twists and turns.”

The Taoiseach said he believed that people had listened to advice on reducing contacts and were following the latest restrictions.

He urged people to take care in the weeks ahead, but said that hospital numbers had become more encouraging in recent days.

A further 4,115 cases of Covid-19 were confirmed in Ireland on Friday, the Department of Health said.

“We have a new threat now in the form of a new variant. I think just as we overcame Alpha, overcame Delta, we can overcome this wave as well. But we have to behave sensibly, assess it as we get more information and deal with it" Mr Martin said.

But he stressed that boosters were a key tool in the fight against Covid-19.

The Chief Medical Officer (CMO) urged the public to get the booster jab because, he said, the Omicron variant “will spread more quickly” than Delta.

Dr Tony Holohan also urged people to stay particularly safe ahead of the Christmas period.

He said he expected the Omicron variant of Covid-19 to become the dominant one, but said it was too early to provide data on when it would happen adding that countries across the world were beginning to report widespread community transmission of the variant.

“All of the evidence seems to be that the Omicron will spread more quickly than we’ve seen with Delta,” Dr Holohan told RTÉ News at One.

“The so-called doubling time has been identified as being at much shorter intervals than we’ve experienced previously.

“The important message for people to hear is that we have confidence boosters will have a particularly protective effect.”

On Thursday, the Government announced that anyone arriving in Ireland from Great Britain would be asked to take daily antigen tests for five consecutive days after arrival.

Mr Martin said that the advice, which will not be placed on a legal footing, had been taken due to the high volume of travel between the two countries.

He said that nine out of the 14 district authorities in Scotland had reported cases associated with the Omicron variant.

“We expect that pattern might repeat itself in other countries in Europe, but at this point in time, the UK has identified it has a significant challenge,” he added.

He said the early evidence was “very clearly pointing” towards an increase in transmissibility.

“The UK, not exclusively so, but it’s one of the countries that has reported widespread community transmission. We clearly have a close relationship to travel in terms of the Common Travel Area,” Dr Holohan continued.

As part of the advice, people are also advised to consider the spread of the Omicron variant in any country they are considering travelling to.

The advice comes after ministers received an updated public health assessment in relation to the Omicron variant

Six cases of the new Omicron variant have been confirmed in Ireland, with health officials warning that the country should be braced for more.

Asked whether people should reconsider plans to travel to Ireland from Britain, Dr Holohan added: “People will make different risk assessments, depending on their individual circumstances.

“It’s important that people be aware and understand what the pattern of this disease is, and it is changing on an almost daily basis.

“We have to remember that the measures that we have in place in terms of prevention of transmission of Delta will have the same effect in helping to prevent transmission of Omicron.

“The boosters that we have on top of the vaccine, all the early evidence suggests will have a good effect, in particular, in preventing the severe effects of Omicron and the Delta infection.”

He added: “We are 14 days away now from Christmas Eve, so people will be thinking about trying to keep themselves safe, thinking about meeting up with other members of their family, in particular people who are in vulnerable groups.

“The measures that you take now will help to reduce that kind of risk.”

We are in a very uncertain and unstable position due to the high incidence of #COVID19 in Ireland driven by the highly transmissible Delta variant.

— Dr Tony Holohan (@CMOIreland) December 10, 2021

On Friday evening, Dr Holohan urged people to avoid crowds and reduce the number of people they meet to keep themselves safe ahead of Christmas.

He said: “We are all aware that this day two weeks is Christmas Eve, a time of year when we all look forward to coming together with friends and family.

“You can take measures today and in the next few days that will ensure the safest possible interaction with your loved ones over Christmas.

“Risk-assess the environments you plan to be in over the next two weeks – consider if they offer the opportunity to protect yourself with each layer of the public health advice.”