The spread of the winter vomiting virus continued yesterday with new and suspected cases being identified at two major Dublin hospitals previously unaffected by the bug.
One confirmed case and two suspected cases were identified at St Vincent's Hospital while suspected cases were also under investigation at Tallaght Hospital last night.
Two new cases were also confirmed yesterday at both Beaumont and St James's Hospitals.
Outside Dublin, a further eight suspected cases were being investigated at Waterford Regional Hospital yesterday. The eight include six patients and two members of staff. A total of 19 patients and six members of staff have now reported symptoms consistent with the virus at the hospital.
In a bid to curb the spread of the virus, the South Eastern Health Board has cancelled all non-urgent admissions up to and including next Monday. "The hospital has been closed to visitors, apart from exceptional circumstances, and security staff are in place at the entrances to the hospital," a spokeswoman said.
The Eastern Regional Health Authority has today placed advertisements in newspapers advising the public how to treat symptoms of the bug at home, in an attempt to stop the spread of the virus to hospitals. The symptoms are similar to gastroenteritis and include vomiting and dehydration.
The total number of suspected and confirmed cases at Beaumont Hospital since the current outbreak began there nearly two weeks ago is now 105. The bug hit patients in 16 of the hospital's 19 wards, closing them off to new admissions. However, one of these wards reopened yesterday and a hospital spokesman said 22 patients who had been in the A&E department for a number of days were moved into it.
He said it was hoped a further ward would reopen to admissions over the next 24 hours.
The hospital has resumed taking emergency cases in its A&E department but it is continuing to postpone elective admissions. These elective cases are not being diverted elsewhere. Up to 360 admissions have been postponed at the hospital since the outbreak.
Visitor restrictions have been imposed at all affected hospitals. In an attempt to prevent the bug getting into the Mater Hospital, its CEO, Mr Martin Cowley, has appealed to people not to visit patients.
The Minister for Health, Mr Martin, said last night people should not visit hospitals unless it was absolutely necessary. The bug had been a significant problem for the country over the last 12 months, adding to health board costs, he said. However, no decision had been taken to refund them those costs, he said, pointing out that every health board had been asked last year "to put contingency funding aside".
But he said the Department of Health would be working with them "in terms of the impact of the bug on their budgets".
The Minister was speaking while attending St James's Hospital to open the first designated chest-pain assessment unit in the State.
St James's A&E consultant Dr Geraldine McMahon, who gave a guided tour of the unit, said heart disease resulted in more than 7,000 deaths annually in the State. She said research showed 12 per cent of patients presenting with chest pain at A&E were inappropriately sent home and were five times more likely than others to die. The new unit, in which all patients are assessed within 12 hours, would prevent this, she said. It will also prevent the inappropriate admission of patients with chest pain who do not require hospitalisation, she added.