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There were no more deaths from Covid-19, but 127 more cases were confirmed in the state on Friday.
This brings to 28,578 the total number of coronavirus cases since the pandemic began and leaves the death toll in the Republic at 1,777.
Of the confirmed cases on Friday, 52 are in Dublin, 13 in Monaghan, nine in Tipperary, eight in Meath, eight in Wexford, eight in Roscommon and the remaining 29 in Carlow, Cavan, Clare, Cork. , Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, Limerick, Longford, Louth, Offaly, Waterford, Westmeath and Wicklow.
About 80 percent of the cases are people under 45 years of age, while 70 of the confirmed cases are men and 57 are women.
Acting Medical Director Dr. Ronan Glynn said that while the number of people in intensive care “remains stable,” another eight people have been hospitalized in the past 24 hours.
“If the cases continue to increase, we will see an inevitable increase in the number of people hospitalized. We all have a role to play in preventing that from happening, ”Dr. Glynn said.
“This weekend it is vital that people do their part by reducing social contacts. Don’t let your guard down just because you run into people close to you. “
Previously, a second inmate in the Irish prison system was confirmed to have tested positive for Covid-19 shortly after his arrest for misdemeanors.
Prison officials knew the man had symptoms of the virus prior to his arrival at Cloverhill Prison and sources say they are confident he contained any outbreaks.
The 28-year-old defendant was arrested by Gardaí in Coolock earlier this week for a series of misdemeanors including criminal damages, theft and traffic offenses.
After being taken to the Coolock Garda station, he informed the gardaí that he had recently returned from a trip abroad. He also began showing symptoms of Covid-19, prompting Gardaí to order a test for the virus.
He was tested for the virus before being transported to Cloverhill Prison by officers in full personal protective equipment. He was re-examined in the back of the prison van before entering a 14-day quarantine period in a designated area of the prison, as is standard for all new internments.
The day after his admission, the test came back positive. The man remains in Cloverhill and does not require hospitalization.
A spokesman for the Irish Prison Service said it does not comment on individual Covid-19 cases and referred inquiries to the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET).
The man is the second person to test positive for the virus in the prison system.
Last week, an inmate tested positive shortly after her arrival at the Centro Dochas women’s prison. She was also in the mandatory 14-day quarantine period at the time and prison authorities believe that no other inmates were infected.
Until last week, Ireland was one of the few countries in Europe to keep Covid-19 out of its prison population, despite several prison officials contracting the virus in the community.
This was achieved through the imposition of strict infection control measures, including a total visitation ban, which was only recently lifted.
Other measures include the segregation of symptomatic prisoners or prisoners awaiting examination in a designated area of Cloverhill and the shelter of elderly or vulnerable prisoners.
Prison sources say that if the current resurgence of the virus continues in the community, the visiting ban could be temporarily reintroduced.
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