The upward curve in positive Covid-19 tests continued in Mayo this week, with the total number of Covid-19 infections in the county passing the 2,600 mark - with over 1,000 of those coming in the past two weeks.
The latest case numbers available at the time of going to print showed that there were 121 new cases reported as of midnight on Tuesday, January 5, bringing the number of new cases in the last 14-day period to 1,055 in that time period.
Mayo University Hospital deferred all face-to-face outpatient clinics this week and cancelled most elective procedures, apart from time-critical procedures and cancer cases, which are still going ahead.
As of the most up-to-date information from the HSE Daily Operations Update, issued at 8pm on Wednesday, January 6, at time of going to print there were 52 cases of Covid-19 being treated in the hospital with two other suspected cases also being treated.
The update also revealed that there was one suspected case of Covid-19 being treated in the hospital's critical care unit, with no confirmed case being treated in that unit at the time. As to bed numbers available, there were seven general beds and one critical care bed available in the hospital, according to the update.
There was good news from the hospital with the first doses of the Pfizer BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine beginning to be administered in the hospital this week, with the vaccine being rolled out to workers over the coming days and weeks.
In an interview inside this week's Mayo Advertiser with Tony Canavan, CEO of the Saolta Group, who oversees the running of Mayo University Hospital, the hospital chief urges people to stay at home, saying that it won't take much to push hospitals over the edge.
In the interview the Saolta CEO also said: "My message to people is to stay at home for the next four weeks. This is the most important thing, to comply with the Level 5 restrictions. It could not be more simple. This will protect lives. Any success we have achieved has been through people following this advice.
"Our hospitals are under extreme pressure and it would not take a lot to push us over the edge. If you stay at home and reduce the opportunity of the transmission of the virus, it will help the health service remain open and available."
