Covid-19 Thursday: 3 deaths, 1,066 cases

THE Health Protection Surveillance Centre has today been notified of 3 additional deaths related to Covid-19.

There has been a total of 1,871 Covid-19-related deaths in Ireland.

As of midnight Wednesday 21st October the HPSC has been notified of 1,066 confirmed cases of Covid-19. There is now a total of 54,476* confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Ireland.

Of the cases notified today:

• 536 are men / 528 are women
• 67% are under 45 years of age
• The median age is 32 years old
• 244 in Dublin, 104 in Galway, 98 in Cork, 92 in Meath and the

remaining 528 cases are spread across all remaining counties.

As of 2pm today 313 Covid-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 37 are in ICU. 20 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours.

Dr Tony Holohan, chief medical officer, Department of Health said: ‘We are now in Level 5 because the disease is at very serious levels in our country and posing a significant risk to public health.

‘We all need to stay at home, except for essential work and exceptional circumstances. If you are a confirmed case self isolate at home, if you are a close contact of a confirmed case restrict your movements at home, if you are experiencing symptoms or believe you are a close contact – restrict your movements and contact your GP.’

Dr Heather Burns, deputy chief medical officer, Department of Health said: ‘The 14-day incidence was at 3 per 100,000 at the end of June, today it is 302 per 100,000 population. The risk of you being exposed to COVID-19 is now 100 times greater than it was 4 months ago. Please limit your risk by staying at home and following public health advice.’

Professor Philip Nolan, chair of the NPHET Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group, said ‘The reproduction number is 1.3 -1.4 nationally. Our collective goal now is to suppress transmission of the virus and bring our case numbers to manageable levels. If we work hard together to get the reproduction number to 0.5, we should succeed in reducing cases to below 100 a day in six weeks’ time.’

Dr Colm Henry, chief clinical officer, HSE, said: ‘Based on our experience, widespread community transmission results in spread to vulnerable groups in congregated settings. The single most effective measure to protect vulnerable groups, including nursing homes, is to reduce community transmission significantly. Every one of us has a role to play to achieve this.’

The COVID-19 Dashboard provides up-to-date information on the key indicators of COVID-19 in the community.

ENDS//

*Validation of data at the HPSC has resulted in the denotification of 12 confirmed cases. The figure of 54,476 confirmed cases reflects this.

Today’s cases, 14-day incidence rate per 100,000 population and new cases in last 14 days (as of midnight 21 October 2020) (incidence rate based on Census 2016 county population)

• To watch or listen to the Southern Star Coronavirus Podcast, please search ‘Coronavirus Podcast’ at the top right of this page or see the Southern Star on YouTube. This week’s podcast features an interview with MEP Deirdre Clune, who talks about her father Peter Barry, growing up in a house where John Hume would visit, and her family’s founding of one of Ireland’s most iconic brands – Barry’s Tea.
• You can subscribe to the Southern Star Coronavirus podcast which is available on YouTube, Spotify, iTunes, or wherever you get your podcasts.