Decisions around the reintroduction of compulsory facemasks in response to the Covid-19 threat will not be triggered to any specific number of infections but taken at a “point in time assessment”, the Department of Health new winter pandemic plan said today.
t said that the current advice is based on the existing profile of Covid-19.
“While specific rigidly defined criteria and thresholds to reintroduce population-wide mandated measures such as mask-wearing are not envisaged, any potential future reintroduction of facemasks will include a point-in-time assessment and take account of all relevant factors and be proportionate to the risk at the time.”
It said this will take a “risk-based “ approach and be guided by advice from the chief medical officer Dr Breda Smyth.
Other elements of the plan include :
Shifting the taking of swabs for PCR testing to GPs. The HSE is working towards moving to a primary care led swabbing to a primary-care led service. It said this phased approach is key to the transition ensuring a level of resilience in the testing and tracing programme. It is moving its programme of testing to one similar to other endemic infectious disease.
It has emergency response plans to roll out temporary testing centres across the country, and an enhanced contact tracing system with capacity to do up to 150,000 tests a week by week eight if needed. It currently does around 4,000 tests a week.
Step up the use of antiviral drug Paxlovid to prevent deterioration in vulnerable people who get Covid. Use of the drug has been much lower than expected so far, and not as active as in other countries
It says that an emergency scenario could happen at any time in the near and long term which would result in the need to scale up vaccination rapidly. The plan would be to see the proportion of fixed or mobile vaccination centres increase by 60pc.It would also see an increase in the workforce, which could involve the deployment of health staff from other parts of the service.
Dr Smyth said today: “This time three years ago, very few among us could have envisaged what was to come. We never thought that a virus like Covid could impact each and every one of us, disrupting all our lives and, very sadly, leading to severe illness and death for our loved ones.
“The Department’s Strategic Response to the Management of Covid-19 ensures that we are as prepared as we can reasonably be for all eventualities this winter.
“My office will continue to closely monitor the epidemiological profile of the disease over the coming weeks and months with a view to providing any further advice and recommendations that may be of assistance in respect of the pandemic response.
“The importance of ongoing vigilance, specifically during the winter season, has been signalled through international guidance and communications from the World Health Organisation (WHO), European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC), and the European Commission.
“It is important to keep up to date with your vaccine schedule and make sure to receive a booster dose as soon as you are eligible – vaccines offer a great opportunity to top-up your protection. The HSE has begun to administer Covid-19 booster vaccines and flu vaccines. They are also available from participating GPs and Pharmacies and can be given at the same time. If you have not yet received a primary dose of Covid-19 vaccine, you can arrange to do so while also getting your flu vaccine.”
