These numbers need to be calmly framed, in the proper context of what it looks like to coexist with Covid19 in Europe.

We're still doing remarkably well overall, in terms of case load and societal buy-in to Public Health measures. Keep at it. https://twitter.com/rtenews/status/1291430771719319552

I find looking to our nearest neighbours to be more instructive than far-flung places.

14-day cumulative incidence, new cases per 100,000 (Aug 6th):

Spain: 81.4
Belgium: 49.2
Portugal: 26.3
Netherlands: 24.0
France: 23.4
Denmark: 14.4
UK: 14.3
Germany: 11.7
Ireland: 9.9

Real-time EU/EEA average is around 23.7 per 100,000.

For Ireland to have remained <10.0 for past 8 weeks is no small feat.

Last week, 16 of the 31 countries were under 10.0 per 100,000. As of today, only 12 are - including us.

We're trending over 10 though, alongside Slovenia.

Another thing you can do is glance at island countries in Europe. It takes fewer cases for Iceland to reach 24.1 relative to Ireland (and ditto Ireland relative to UK.)

14-day cumulative incidence, new cases per 100,000 (Aug 6th):

Malta: 33.0
Iceland: 24.1
UK: 14.3
Ireland: 9.9

What we're seeing past 2 weeks in Ireland is a median age of positive case of 31 years old.

That's simultaneously awesome and awful.

Great in that the elderly are being protected (and protecting themselves very well) and not so great in that more infection, raises their risk.

If this trend holds, we would see very few deaths and our ICU's fairly empty - but the trend won't hold if community transmission spirals out of control.

Beyond that tipping point, older people will be at more risk across-the-board and they will die in numbers again.

Regarding schools, important to remember not one child has died in Ireland during this pandemic.

That includes the surge phase of late March/early April when community transmission was rife.

Need to strike the right balance between hysteria and rational worry.

I tried to research how many Irish children died of Flu since the year 1980, it's difficult to obtain the early 80's epidemiological reports - and Flu isn't always cited as cause of death - but I believe the answer is around 285 or 7 children every year.

Those numbers were far worse in years when Influenza B was dominant, as it's generally more deadly than A in children.

Speaking of which, Influenza B was in fact dominant in the US this year before Covid19 arrived and in January/February alone, 144 American children died of Flu.

Highlighting that to reinforce how vital it is to get your kids into routines of hand washing.

Covid19 is unlikely to kill a child, but that doesn't mean Influenza is guaranteed to be sidelined this winter - and that very much does kill children.

Hand washing is the foundational element here and masks do not replace or supersede the need to wash your hands.

It has to be something we hammer home, as it'll be a vital part of keeping Covid19 at bay this winter.

Our numbers indicate societal buy-in on it remains high.

I'm proud of the way Irish society are handling this.

If there were endemic failures, with most people acting the goat, we'd see far higher numbers.

We don't, because most people are still on board with:

1. Hand washing
2. Meters
3. Mask
4. No house parties

Stick with it.