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The Health Protection Surveillance Center (HPSC) has been notified of 518 new confirmed cases of Covid-19.
This brings the total number of cases in Ireland since the outbreak began to 38,549.
There were no new deaths, which means the death toll stands at 1,810 Covid-19-related deaths.
A further breakdown of the case data released by the HPSC shows that Dublin had the highest number of confirmed cases, followed by Cork and then Limerick.
- 252 cases are men and 266 are women
- 68% of cases are under 45 years of age
- 30% of cases are confirmed to be associated with outbreaks or are close contacts of a confirmed case
- 78 cases of Covid-19 have been identified as community transmission
- 134 in Dublin, 53 in Cork, 49 in Limerick, 34 in Donegal, 32 in Meath, and the remaining 216 cases are spread over 20 counties.
Speaking about the latest case numbers, Dr. Tony Holohan, Medical Director of the Department of Health, said it was important to suppress the surge in Covid-19 cases before winter.
Dr. Holohan said: “We have seen in recent days a significant and worrying deterioration in the epidemiological situation at the national level.
Dr. Holohan also emphasized the need for discipline with regard to public health guidelines.
Don’t be distracted from core public health messages; wash your hands regularly, keep your distance, wear face covers when appropriate, avoid crowded environments, reduce your social contacts to a minimum, know the symptoms and isolate yourself and contact your GP immediately if you experience them ” said Dr. Holohan.
Dr. Glynn, deputy chief medical officer for the Department of Health, said solidarity was necessary to keep schools open and maintain necessary public health services with the growing number of cases.
“Our fundamental priorities must be protected. We must work together to keep our non-covid health services open, keep our children in education, and protect the lives of those most vulnerable to this disease.
“Solidarity is more important now than ever as we work to once again suppress this virus in our communities,” said Dr. Glynn.
The latest case numbers come as the government rejected NPHET’s weekend call to move the country to Level Five for Covid-19 restrictions.
Instead, the government is expected to announce a nationwide move to Level Three in response to the increased number of cases.
The decision follows a meeting held today between government party leaders and Medical Director Dr. Tony Holohan in government buildings.
NPHET’s recommendations were based on the country’s lack of healthcare capacity, as Covid-19 cases have continued to rise in recent weeks along with the admission of patients to hospital for treatment of the virus.
Hospital admissions are just one of the factors studied by public health experts, but it was noted as one of the main causes for concern over the weekend.
In OECD countries, Ireland is at the low end with just five beds per 100,000 inhabitants and remains the only Western European country without universal primary care coverage.
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