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The total number of coronavirus cases in Ireland has surpassed 70,000, another historic figure, as four other people were reported to have died from Covid-19, according to the Department of Health tonight.
This brings the total number of virus-related deaths to 2,022 since the outbreak began.
Tonight 344 more cases of coronavirus have been reported, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 70,143.
269 people have been hospitalized for Covid-19 and 32 patients are receiving intensive care treatment.
12 people were admitted to the hospital in the last 24 hours.
Dublin reported the most cases today with 127 confirmed, followed by Cork with 46, Louth with 26, 22 in Donegal, 20 in Limerick and the remaining 103 cases spread across 20 other counties.
A further breakdown of the case data shows:
- 156 cases are men and 185 are women
- 69% of cases are patients under 45 years of age.
- The average age of the confirmed cases is 32 years.
The 14-day national incidence rate per 100,000 population with new cases is now 113.3.
Donegal has the highest 14-day incident rate, 255.0, almost double the national average.
The latest case data comes as HSE Clinical Director Dr. Colm Henry today urged avoiding “mixing with people unnecessarily.”
Speaking on RTÉ Saturday with Katie Hannon, Dr. Henry said more options will be available Christmas after, if social contacts can be further reduced during the remainder of the Level 5 lockdown.
The senior doctor said that trends reported in recent days showed that Covid-19 cases had more confirmed contacts, indicating an increase in socialization levels.
“What we see is a slight increase in the number of contacts per case. That infers that there has been some decrease in that reduction of contacts and in the way that people intermingle with each other,” said Dr. Henry.
“That R-value is not just an inanimate number.
Options to lift lockdown restrictions are limited when progress in reducing cases and the spread of the coronavirus stalls.
Dr. Henry said, “The longer it stays at this level, this stagnation that we’ve seen in the last few days from 300 to 400 cases per day reduces our options. We want to expand the options as much as possible,” he said. .
“The more we do now, the more we avoid mixing with people unnecessarily; And that includes employers, employees who strive to work from home, the more we avoid mixing in any social environment, the amount of options we will have at the beginning of December, for Christmas, and that is better for everyone. “
Meanwhile, “urgency” is the keyword of Ireland’s strategy to provide access to the Covid-19 vaccine.
Professor McCraith, chairman of the government’s vaccine task force, told RTÉ radio that Saturday’s preparations are underway “urgently and thoroughly” to distribute the vaccine.
He said the task force will provide information to the public about the vaccine when it is “available and accurate.” There are currently three vaccines in production that are showing early positive indicators, according to reports.
This week, Pfizer-BioNTech reported that its vaccine was 95% effective, while Moderna’s efforts showed 94.5% efficacy. Findings from the phase two study from the University of Oxford-AstraZeneca showed that it causes few side effects, particularly among older people.
“We got really great news this week, albeit via press release. I think there is great enthusiasm for the indicators for at least three of the vaccines; that of the University of Oxford, the Modern and the Pfizer. Really strong signs, ”said Professor MacCraith.
Professor McCraith said the task force will have its first full meeting early next week and will discuss all elements of the “end-to-end process” of vaccine administration.
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