The data provided by the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) is one aspect of expertise, analysis and evidence the NPHET considers in providing its advice to the Minister for Health and Government. The NPHET’s membership is multi-disciplinary, multi-agency and multi-sectoral, in line with international best practice. No single metric is considered in isolation, nor are decisions made based on a single factor.
At all times, the NPHET’s advice is informed by numerous factors, including the epidemiological status of the disease, modelling projections, international guidance, evolving evidence and practice both nationally and internationally. The NPHET minutes outline the range of evidence and expertise considered prior to making advice and those minutes are available publicly at [ https://www.gov.ie/en/collection/691330-national-public-health-emergency-team-covid-19-coronavirus/ ]. The minutes for the meeting of 11th November will be published shortly following adoption by the NPHET.
The data reports from the HPSC on outbreaks and clusters are an important input into NPHET. These reports can be considered accurate in that they capture the identified outbreaks, and accurately reflect this data at the time of publication (minor amendments may be made through data reconciliation and/or updating following late notification). Given the very high levels of transmission in the community at present HSE Public Health are prioritising the investigation and reporting of COVID-19 outbreaks in key vulnerable settings e.g. residential care facilities and hospitals. Therefore, the number outbreaks reported in some other settings is underestimated.
The NPHET takes additional evidence into account when providing advice to Government. HIQA have also provided expertise and evidence to NPHET on outbreak risk. HIQA’s international evidence review (Nov ’20) identified those higher-risk environments and activities that present a greater risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission, which further informs NPHET’s advice to Government on targeted public health measures.
The evidence points to the higher risk associated with indoor environments such as pubs or nightclubs due to the increased likelihood of crowded spaces, prolonged and intense contact with others, poor ventilation, and noise levels, and the higher risk associated with certain activities including dining, drinking, exercising, singing or shouting. The HIQA publication is available online: https://www.hiqa.ie/reports-and-publications/health-technology-assessment/activities-or-settings-associated-higher-risk
