THE Health Protection Surveillance Centre has today been informed that 3 people with Covid-19 have died.
There has now been a total of 1,788* Covid-19-related deaths in Ireland.
As of midnight Tuesday 15th September, the HPSC has been notified of 254 confirmed cases of Covid-19. There is now a total of 31,799* confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Ireland.
Of the cases notified today:
- 115 are men / 133 are women
- 65% are under 45 years of age
- 61% are confirmed to be associated with outbreaks or are close contacts of a confirmed case
- 24 cases have been identified as community transmission
- 136 in Dublin, 20 in Donegal, 13 in Louth, 12 in Wicklow, 9 in Waterford, 7 Carlow, 7 in Cork, 6 in Galway, 5 in Kerry, 5 in Wexford and the remaining 28 cases are located in Clare, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Leitrim, Limerick, Longford, Mayo, Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon and Westmeath.
The HSE is working to identify any contacts the patients may have had to provide them with information and advice to prevent further spread.
The COVID-19 Dashboard provides up-to-date information on the key indicators of Covid-19 in the community.
Dr Ronan Glynn, acting chief medical officer, Department of Health, said: ‘The current situation has deteriorated both in Dublin and nationally over the past week. Along with Dublin we have seen particularly concerning trends in Louth, Waterford and Donegal. It is now absolutely essential that people action public health advice and act as if they or those close to them are potentially infectious.’
Professor Philip Nolan, chair of the NPHET Irish epidemiological modelling advisory group, said: ‘The reproduction number is between 1.3 – 1.7 nationally. I am more concerned than I have been at any point since late April. Case numbers appear to be growing exponentially and are likely to double every 10 to 14 days if every one of us does not immediately act to break chains of transmission of the virus. If we do not interrupt transmission now, bring the r-number back to below 1, modelling shows that we could have 500 -1,000 cases per day by the 16th of October, 50-60% of which would be in Dublin.’
Dr Colm Henry, chief clinical officer, HSE, said: ‘There are currently 73 patients in hospital, 9 of these have been admitted in the past 24 hours. 14 of these patients are in ICU. We are seeing a sharp increase in rate of admissions into our acute hospitals. We know that without a reversal of these trends, admissions can escalate rapidly to the point where our healthcare facilities will be under unsustainable pressure. It is more essential than ever that we all adhere to the basic measures which can weaken the virus in the community.’
Dr Mary Favier, Covid-19 advisor to the Irish College of General Practitioners, said: ‘While we have been conducting a large number of tests on children, thanks to the vigilance of parents around symptoms and contacting GPs with concerns, we have not witnessed a disproportionate rise in the number of confirmed cases in children.’
*Validation of data at the HPSC has resulted in the denotification of 2 deaths. The figure of 1,788 confirmed cases reflects this.
*Validation of data at the HPSC has resulted in the denotification of 4 confirmed cases. The figure of 31,799 confirmed cases reflects this.
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