There has been one new Coronavirus death reported today – meaning 1,774 is the death toll in Ireland.
The person who passed away died a number of weeks ago but their death due to Covid was only notified today.
While there has been a total of 40 new cases of Coronavirus have been diagnosed in Ireland today.
1,898 cases have been detected in the country in the last 14 days.
329 of these cases were in Kildare (37%), 150 in Dublin (17%), 105 in Offaly (12%), 70 in Laois (8%), 40 in Limerick (4%) and 32 in Clare (3%). The remaining 172 cases were spread across 20 counties.
Of today’s 40 cases, 12 are in Dublin, 11 in Kildare, 7 in Offaly, and the rest of the cases are in Clare, Donegal, Limerick, Meath, Roscommon, Tipperary, Wicklow.
None are in Laois – something which also happened on Tuesday while Wednesday’s exact figure was not provided by the Department of Health but it is somewhere between one and three.
That means there is now a total of 26,838 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ireland.
Dr Ronan Glynn, Acting Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health, said; “When NPHET tracks and analyses COVID-19’s progression in Ireland, we take into account much more than daily figures.
“Although today’s number is positive relative to what we saw last weekend, we remain concerned about both the number of cases that are being reported and their distribution across the country.
“The five day average for reported cases nationally is now at 75 per day.
“Even when we exclude Kildare, Laois and Offaly from this, it remains significantly elevated for the rest of the country at 31 per day – it is worth recalling that in late June, the five day average for cases reported was less than 10.
“In light of this, I ask people to continue to hold firm and continue to closely follow public health advice.”
Professor Philip Nolan, Chair of NPHET Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group, said “Due to the nature of how this virus spreads, there can be a delay between when it seeds and when we see it emerge in our communities.
“For this reason, we work in 14 day and five day average periods in order to ensure that we are seeing the full picture of how the disease is behaving in Ireland.
“While today’s figures are relatively low in the context of this particular week, it is important that we remember that this is a long game.
“We know that COVID-19 transmits when people come into close contact with one another. When we ask you to follow public health measures and adhere to public health advice, it is with the sole aim of limiting this disease’s opportunity to spread through this close contact.
“It’s important that everyone in Ireland knows the things they can do in their own communities to help.
“They are: limiting our contacts, avoiding crowded indoor settings, close attention to hand and respiratory hygiene, wearing a face covering where appropriate, using the COVID Tracker App and self-isolation at the first sign of symptoms. These apply countrywide, not just in the counties of Kildare, Laois and Offaly.”
Dr Siobhán Ni Bhriain, Consultant Psychiatrist and HSE Integrated Care Lead, said, “Testing is a vital component of our national response to COVID-19.
“It enables us to find as many cases as possible and quickly isolate them, which helps prevent further spread. We would appeal to people who are referred for testing as close contacts to attend both tests.
“It is very important that if you experience any of the symptoms of COVID-19 – such as cough, fever, shortness of breath, or loss of sense of smell/taste – that you self-isolate immediately, and phone your GP straight away. Do not wait and see. Act quickly. This will limit the chance of this highly infectious virus transmitting further.”
Minister Harris
Minister Simon Harris has called for more targeted lockdowns rather than shutting down entire counties.
Mr Harris said the Government can be “more sophisticated” in how restrictions can be applied and will need to take learnings from the country-wide restrictions in Kildare, Laois and Offaly that were introduced last Friday.
He said: “We’ll need to look at how that worked and see if there’s learnings from that. Would it be possible, if you have a very regular programme of testing in meat factories, can we detect a problem quicker?
“Will we be able to act quicker the next time? Will we be able to move to close down a meat factory while we’re awaiting the results and would that mean an entire county wouldn’t have to be shut down?
“I do think the more forensic we can be rather than kind of blanket shutdowns, the better it is for everybody’s sanity.
“I am very conscious that some people live many, many miles away from an outbreak.
“They’re saying: ‘How come I’ve had to shut down or I’ve had to restrict my movements and somebody who lives much much closer to the outbreak but in a different county doesn’t?'”
Leo Varadkar
Leo Varadkar has said it is “almost inevitable” that Covid-19 outbreaks will occur when schools reopen at the end of this month.
Mr Varadkar said a cluster of Covid-19 cases occurring in some schools is likely despite public health measures being fully implemented.
“I can guarantee you that in a few weeks time we’re going to see clusters occur in schools,” he told RTÉ’s Open For Business.
Everyone should be aware of the risk factors for getting COVID-19:
- Distance – the risk of getting COVID-19 increases as the distance between you and others gets smaller. Keep 2 metres apart where possible
- Activity – How you spend time with people and what you do with them can increase your risk. Follow the government’s Stay Safe Guidelines when spending time with others
- Time – The more time you spend in close contact with other people can increase your risk of getting COVID-19. Keep track of who you spend time with and how
- Environment – Being outdoors is safer than being indoors. Where possible, meet with others outdoors. If this is not possible, keep windows and doors open when meeting others inside
- Symptoms – Know the symptoms. If you have them self-isolate and contact your GP immediately
Public Health Advice for all citizens available here:
Know the symptoms of COVID-19
- a fever (high temperature – 38 degrees Celsius or above)
- a cough – this can be any kind of cough, not just dry
- shortness of breath or breathing difficulties
- loss or change to your sense of smell or taste
- flu like symptoms
SEE ALSO – Portlaoise Hospital worker tests positive for Covid-19
