A further 310 confirmed cases of Coronavirus and 15 new deaths have been announced by the health authorities this evening.
10 of these deaths occurred in December.
There were two new cases announced in Laois meaning the 14-day incidence rate in the county is now 49.6 – down from 54.3 yesterday.
The current national average is 79, down from 79.5 yesterday.
There are now 42 active cases in Laois, down from 46 yesterday.
Of the cases notified today;
- 162 are men / 148 are women
- 61% are under 45 years of age
- The median age is 39 years old
- 80 in Dublin, 27 in Donegal, 25 in Louth, 15 in Kilkenny, 15 in Waterford, 15 in Tipperary, 15 in Meath and the remaining 118 cases are spread across 16 other counties.
As of 2pm today 202 COVID-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 36 are in ICU. 15 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours.
Dr. Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health, said: “Tomorrow marks 14 days to Christmas Day. To ensure the safest possible interaction with your family over Christmas, consider restricting your movements now.
“Risk assess the environments you plan to be in over the next two weeks; are they compliant with public health measures? Can you keep a two metre distance? Are people wearing face coverings? Now is the time to make decisions about what interactions are necessary and pose the lowest risk to you, your family and friends over Christmas.”
Dr. Ronan Glynn, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health, said: “It is important that the encouraging plans for vaccine rollout in 2021 does not distract from the actions we need to take as we face into December 2020. A vaccine will have no positive impact on the trajectory of this disease over the coming weeks and does not give immunity to people over the Christmas period. We must not allow COVID-19 to spread through our communities now, after all the efforts we have made throughout 2020 and how close we are to beginning to vaccinate.”
Professor Philip Nolan, Chair of the NPHET Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group, said “The reproduction number is now estimated to be close to 1.0. This is a testament to the very large number of people who continue to limit their contacts and follow public health advice. Please be mindful that this remains a very dangerous virus, especially for vulnerable and older persons.
“We have the know-how and the determination to keep suppressing this disease, to protect our family and friends over Christmas.”
Professor Karina Butler, Chair of the National Immunisation Advisory Committee, said: “As we await final analysis of vaccines by the European Medicines Agency, the FDA analysis of the data around Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine has affirmed its efficacy. These are encouraging signs however it is important to ensure full EMA approval before vaccine roll out in Ireland.”
New Cases in Laois
- December 9 – 2
- December 8 – 3
- December 7 – 2
- December 6 – 2
- December 5 – 0
- December 4 – 9
- December 3 – 2
- December 2 – 0
- December 1 – 1
- November 30 – 5
- November 29 – 2
- November 28 – 2
- November 27 – 4
- November 26 – 4
- November 25 – 6
14-day case rate in Laois per 100,000 population
- December 9 – 49.6
- December 8 – 54.3
- December 7 – 56.7
- December 6 – 55.7
- December 5 – 55.5
- December 4 – 56.7
- December 3 – 49.6
- December 2 – 50.8
- December 1 – 55.5
- November 30 – 55.5
- November 29 – 51.9
- November 28 – 50.8
- November 27 – 55.5
- November 26 – 57.9
New cases in Laois during past 14 days
- December 9 – 42
- December 8 – 46
- December 7 – 48
- December 6 – 47
- December 5 – 47
- December 4 – 47
- December 3 – 42
- December 2 – 43
- December 1 – 47
- November 30 – 47
- November 29 – 44
- November 28 – 43
- November 27 – 47
- November 26 – 49
TDs and the vaccine
Research carried out by RTÉ’s Today with Claire Byrne shows that the vast majority of TDs say they will get the vaccine when it is available.
Of the 160 TDs in Dáil Éireann including the Ceann Comhairle, 144 said they would get the jab, three said they would not get the vaccine, two are undecided while 11 TDs did not respond.
One of the TDs who did not respond is Sinn Fein and Laois’ Brian Stanley but that is because he is on a week off after the controversary over his social media posts.
35 of Fianna Fáil’s 37 TDs say they are committed to taking the jab, two did not respond.
29 the 35 Fine Gael TDs responded to say they will get the vaccine.
We have reached out to Laois TDs Sean Fleming and Charlie Flanagan to ascertain whether they responded yes to the survey – or didn’t respond at all.
The three TDs who said they would not take the vaccine are Tipperary’s Mattie McGrath, Cork South West’s Michael Collins and Limerick’s Richard O’Donoghue – all Independents.
Two further Independents, Roscommon’s Michael Fitzmaurice and Clare’s Michael MacNamara say they are undecided.
