1,604 people have now died from Coronavirus in Ireland – an increase of 13 from yesterday.
Not all of these people passed away today – this is the number that were reported to the Department of Health today.
These people will have passed away in recent days and not just today.
While there has been a total of 76 new cases of Coronavirus have been diagnosed in Ireland today.
This is an increase on the 24,506 cases from yesterday and takes the overall total to 24,582.
Today’s data from the HPSC, as of midnight, Thursday 21 May (24,451 cases), reveals:
· 57% are female and 43% are male
· the median age of confirmed cases is 48 years
· 3,211 cases (13%) have been hospitalised
· Of those hospitalised, 393 cases have been admitted to ICU
· 7,813 cases are associated with healthcare workers
· Dublin has the highest number of cases at 11,830 (48% of all cases) followed by Cork with 1,420 cases (6%) and then Kildare with 1,387 cases (6%)
· Of those for whom transmission status is known: community transmission accounts for 60%, close contact accounts for 38%, travel abroad accounts for 2%
Taoiseach says 2 metre social distance is here to stay
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has reaffirmed that the two-metre social distancing rule “stands”, and there has been “no change” to the public health advice.
Mr Varadkar made the remark this morning after it was revealed that several Cabinet ministers advocated yesterday for the adoption of World Health Organization guidance, which states that a one-metre distance is considered to be safe.
Important information
Symptoms of Covid-19 include:
- Cough
- Shortness of breath
- Fever
- Breathing difficulties.
Further resources:
- The HSE: Official advice on the coronavirus in Ireland. This is being updated based on the number of confirmed cases and how the virus spreads in Ireland.
- The Department of Foreign Affairs: Official advice on where to avoid travelling to. Also a resource for those who are abroad.
- The World Health Organization (WHO): The UN agency on global public health publishes statements and daily situation reports based on the latest data.
- European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC): The EU agency on the number of cases, deaths and how it’s spreading in Europe.
- The Johns Hopkins University map: A heat map of the confirmed cases across the world.
A helpline for older people who are concerned about the coronavirus has been launched by Alone. The number is 0818 222 024, and it’s open Monday to Friday, 8am-8pm.
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