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There have been no more deaths from Covid-19 in the state, but 396 more cases have been confirmed, according to figures released Sunday by the Health Department.
It brings the number of confirmed cases to 32,933 and leaves the death toll at 1,792.
Of the most recent cases, 241 are in Dublin, which entered Level 3 checks on Saturday under the Government’s five-stage scheme for Covid-19 regulations.
Professor Philip Nolan, chair of the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) epidemiological modeling advisory group, said the restrictions were necessary to protect the most vulnerable people in communities.
“High levels of virus in the community increase the risk for the elderly and other vulnerable people,” he tweeted Sunday.
“The recent increase in cases in Ireland started in younger age groups with very mild illness, but now we are seeing an increase in cases in older people, hospitalizations and deaths. We had 4 deaths with Covid-19 throughout August and 18 so far in September. “
Of the most recent cases, 172 are men and 224 women, and 70% are under 45 years of age.
About 26 percent have been confirmed to be associated with outbreaks or are close contacts of a confirmed case, and 58 cases have been identified as community transmission.
Outside the capital, there were 36 cases in Cork, 19 in Donegal, 12 in Galway, 11 in Meath, 11 in Kildare, 9 in Monaghan, 7 in Louth, 6 in Clare, 6 in Offaly, 6 in Waterford and 5 in Wicklow , with the remaining 27 cases spread across 11 counties.
In a statement, Dr. Ronan Glynn, the department’s acting chief medical officer, said: “The cases we reported today were seeded in the last week.
“This virus is transmitted from person to person. We now have a collective task across the country to break the chains of transmission and stop the spread of this virus.
“Plan to see half as many people this week as last week. When you meet up, do so safely – keep your distance, wear a face cover if applicable, and wash your hands.
“Every individual action we take to interrupt the transmission of this disease keeps us and our families safe.”
Northern figures
In Northern Ireland, the number of coronavirus cases also continued to rise over the weekend, with 222 more cases reported by the Northern health department on Saturday and another 176 cases on Sunday.
This brings the total number of confirmed cases in the region to 9,341, including 977 confirmed positive results in the last seven days.
On Sunday, the chairman of the Stormont health committee said there are “areas of great concern” within the Covid-19 testing system in Northern Ireland.
Colm Gildernew said his committee wants to speak with Northern Health Minister Robin Swann about the increasing number of cases and problems in the testing system.
The Sinn Féin MLA has also called for responses to be provided to the families of five patients who died in the last week as a result of coronavirus outbreaks at two hospitals in the region.
“Families have the right to know the truth about what has happened in the case of their loved one, but also the health service needs to know very quickly how it happened and how they can prevent it from happening in other settings,” he told the BBC.
Three of the deaths occurred at Craigavon Area Hospital and two at Daisy Hill Hospital in Newry.
The Southern Trust said a level three Serious Adverse Incident (SAI) investigation will be conducted into the Daisy Hill outbreak. An SAI on the outbreak at Craigavon Area Hospital is already underway.
Gildernew outlined some examples of problems within the testing system, including a family isolating itself after their son was tested Thursday, and is still waiting for a result.
“They have sometimes been told on the phone to talk to people in England, then Scotland, and when they were actually able to talk to someone here, they were told that the evidence had not been found, so those are areas of great concern and I think that the minister must address them urgently, ”he said.
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