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Twenty-eight more people have died from the coronavirus, as the number of confirmed cases in the state increased by 500, the largest single-day increase to date.
Fifteen of the patients who died were women and 13 men, with an average age of 84 years, according to the National Public Health Emergency Team. Nineteen of the patients had an underlying health condition. Some 22 of the deaths were located in the east, two in the northwest, two in the south and two in the west.
This brings the number of deaths from the coronavirus, also known as Covid-19, to 263 in the Republic.
The number of known cases has increased from 6,074 to 6,574.
The analysis carried out by the Health Surveillance Protection Center of 6,444 cases as of Tuesday shows that the average age of known cases is 48 years.
Data from models used by the public health emergency team show that the daily growth rate has slowed from 33% in the early stages of the outbreak to 9% this week.
Fianna Fáil’s reaction
Meanwhile, Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin said more than 50,000 people are waiting to get tested.
He was speaking after a government briefing for party leaders about the Covid-19 crisis.
“The areas of greatest concern that were articulated were the current problems related to PPE [personal protection equipment], the situation in relation to nursing homes and the whole situation in the tests. “
He said that in terms of testing, “about 53,000 tests have been completed to date. There were 51,000 people waiting for swab appointments and it seems to me that there is still some degree of work to be done on the test front. What we were identified was a laboratory capacity problem. Therefore, suffice it to say that the country is not where it would like to be in terms of the volume of tests and the change in tests.
Martin said more updates will be released on anticipated case modeling.
As the Easter bank holiday approaches, border travel will be monitored by gardaí and PSNI officials to ensure people comply with coronavirus restrictions.
The move, one of several implemented over Easter, comes amid warnings that the weekend could be “Cheltenham of Ireland” in terms of Covid-19 contagion.
Dr Paddy Mallon, an infectious disease expert, said the Irish government acted at the right time, unlike in the UK, where an event like Cheltenham was allowed to occur. Consequently, there are now “tens of thousands” of cases.
It was “one of the biggest events” that led to the further spread of the virus in the UK, Dr. Mallon told Newstalk Breakfast.
The weekend could be “Cheltenham of Ireland” if people in the east of the country (where there are more cases) “decide to take off,” he warned.
New Powers
Dr. Mallon’s warning comes as the number of people who have died from the virus in Northern Ireland has increased by four to 82, according to the latest figures from the Northern Public Health Agency, released on Thursday afternoon.
The agency also said there were 138 new confirmed cases of Covid-19, bringing the total number in the north to 1,477. A total of 10,203 people have been analyzed to detect the virus.
In the Republic, Gardaí has been given new powers to enforce rules designed to keep as many people as possible at home. Local authorities across the country have also announced that the beach car parks will be closed over the weekend. County councils, including Cork, Wexford, Mayo and Clare, have posted closure details on social media.
At the government’s Covid-19 morning briefing, Deputy Secretary General of the Taoiseach Department, Liz Canavan, said “contact points have been established to monitor cross-border travel and … Gardaí will follow his usual approach to engage , educate, encourage and enforce as a last resort. “
The restrictions introduced by the government two weeks ago are likely to extend for several weeks beyond the Easter deadline.
Health Minister Simon Harris told Virgin Media that he expects to be informed on Good Friday to keep the restrictions in place for a period of weeks, but that Ireland will have to move to “different terrain” after that.
“What is very likely tomorrow is that the National Public Health Emergency Team will recommend that we continue with the very strict restrictions. I hope it will be a period of weeks,” he said.
Doctors have expressed concern about a possible increase later this month if the public doesn’t meet social distancing requirements over the weekend.
Public complacency
Fears of mounting public complacency about the virus were echoed by Gardaí, who is monitoring more than 1,000 locations in the state, including walks in the woods and on beaches.
Garda deputy commissioner John Twomey said officials had noted that people are starting to tire of social distancing regulations.
On Tuesday night, Mr. Harris signed regulations granting powers of execution to Gardaí. The powers were approved by the Oireachtas in late March, but were only activated with the signature of the Minister.
The regulations are based on guidelines issued by the government two weeks ago. Anyone who exercises more than 2 km from their home or with people outside their home will be an offender. Anyone traveling beyond 2 km for non-essential reasons will also violate.
A crime will be committed only if a person refuses to receive instructions from a garda to comply with regulations. It is not non-compliance with regulations that is illegal, but disobeying the garda’s instructions once they are detected.
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