There have been a further 47 Coronavirus-related deaths and 1,466 new cases according to figures released this evening by the health authorities.
46 of these deaths occurred in January. The median age of those who died is 85 years and the age range is 55-99 years
So far, in the month of January, there have been 878 Covid-19 related deaths.
Of today’s new cases, 15 of them are in Laois, meaning the county’s 14-day incidence rate drops from 557.3 to 504.2.
There are now 427 confirmed active cases in the county, compared to 472 yesterday.
Of the cases notified today:
- 697 are men / 764 are women
- 55% are under 45 years of age
- The median age is 41 years old
- 472 in Dublin, 106 in Galway, 103 in Cork, 77 in Waterford, 70 in Limerick and the remaining 638 cases are spread across all other counties
As of 2pm today, 1,567 COVID-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 216 are in ICU. 69 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours.
Dr Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health, said: “Incidence is falling but remains high. It is positive to see numbers of people hospitalised reducing and a stabilisation of numbers in ICU.
“However, we are continuing to experience high mortality with 878 deaths so far in January. I am concerned about the high incidence we are seeing in long-term care settings and vulnerable groups. Our efforts to stay home and break transmission of the disease will save lives. Please continue to follow the public health advice and support each other to keep going.”
Professor Philip Nolan, Chair of the NPHET Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group, said; “Incidence is falling and by working collectively to reduce contacts, we have achieved suppression of transmission with the R number estimated at 0.4-0.7.
“We are maintaining an extraordinary effort but still we have a long way to go. We must maintain full suppression for several weeks if we are to achieve strategic options for the future. If we keep this up, we would be down to 200-400 cases per day by the end of February.”
Dr Lorraine Doherty, National Clinical Director Health Protection HSE – Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC), said; “It only takes one event to spark a chain of transmission of COVID-19 that can spread through a community.
“We have seen examples of outbreaks in a workplace that has led to multiple outbreaks in families and other work settings, and these ultimately lead to a higher incidence in the community and threatens the most vulnerable to COVID-19. Every action an individual takes matters.”
New Cases in Laois
- January 27 – 15
- January 26 – 16
- January 25 – 9
- January 24 – 25
- January 23 – 17
- January 22 – 17
- January 21 – 17
- January 20 – 45
- January 19 – 38
- January 18 – 46
- January 17 – 24
- January 16 – 62
- January 15 – 48
- January 14 – 53
14-day case rate in Laois per 100,000 population
- January 27 – 504.2
- January 26 – 557
- January 25 – 591
- January 24 – 628.1
- January 23 – 673
- January 22 – 776.9
- January 21 – 763.9
- January 20 – 807.6
- January 19 – 851.3
- January 18 – 933.9
- January 17 – 898.5
- January 16 – 964.6
- January 15 – 935.1
- January 14 – 1001.2
New cases in Laois during past 14 days
-
- January 27 – 427
- January 26 – 472
- January 25 – 501
- January 24 – 532
- January 23 – 570
- January 22 – 658
- January 21 – 647
- January 20 – 684
- January 19 – 721
- January 18 – 791
- January 17 – 761
- January 16 – 817
- January 15 – 792
- January 14 – 848
Testing of close contacts to resume
Dr Mai Mannix, Director of Public Health, HSE Midwest has said tomorrow’s planned resumption of testing of close contacts will provide “a truer picture of what is happening in the community”.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Drivetime, Dr Mannix said there may “possibly be a slight increase in the number of cases,” but she said she believes the overall direction of the rate of the virus “should continue to decrease”.
Dr Mannix said in parts of Clare and North Tipperary in October and November were “close to zero cases” and she said “that is where we should be striving to get to again”.
She warned people not to be complacent as they see the case numbers decrease and urged them not to change their behaviours.
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