[ad_1]
The Department of Health has today recorded another 50 deaths related to Covid-19 in the Republic of Ireland.
This comes as CMO Dr. Tony Holohan warned about new Covid-19 variants identified in travelers from Japan and Brazil, however, he said there is no evidence that these variants are in Ireland.
He added: “Anyone who has traveled from Brazil in the last 14 days is advised to isolate themselves for 14 days, from the date of arrival, and identify themselves, through a GP, to perform the test. as soon as possible.
“It is essential that anyone arriving from Brazil isolate themselves for 14 days from the arrival date before entering / re-entering the workplace.
“We especially appeal to employers to allow their employees to protect each other by staying home for the full 14 days.”
“A further risk assessment of the new variants is expected by the ECDC in the next week. We must all continue to comply with all elements of the public health council. This remains our best defense against Covid-19.”
Some 3,498 more cases of coronavirus were also confirmed today.
This brings the total number of cases in the state to 166,548 and the total number of Covid-19 related deaths to 2,536.
Of the 50 deaths recorded today, all occurred in January 2021. The average age of those who died was 82 years and the age range was 45 to 96 years.
There were no recently reported deaths in healthcare workers or a youth under 30 years of age.
Of the cases reported today:
1,576 are men / 1,906 are women
54pc are under 45 years old
The average age is 42 years.
1,182 are in Dublin, 421 in Cork, 258 in Limerick, 187 in Galway, 164 in Waterford, and the remaining 1,286 cases are spread across all other counties.
As of 2:00 p.m. today, 1,850 Covid-19 patients are hospitalized, of which 184 are in the ICU. There have been 118 additional hospitalizations in the last 24 hours.
This comes as local case numbers have been revealed, and Belmullet in Co Mayo has the highest incidence rate per 100,000 in the country.
It has an incidence rate of 6031.7, which is almost double that of any other region.
The national incidence rate is 1,497, which is equivalent to one in 67 people in Ireland who tested positive in the two weeks to 11 January.
Monaghan remains the county with the highest incidence at 2,794, meaning that one in 35 people in Monaghan has been confirmed to have the virus in the past two weeks.
For vaccines, HSE will widen the gap between the first and second doses of the Pfizer BionTech vaccine to 28 days, instead of 21 days.
It comes amid concerns that Pfizer’s vaccine supplies will slow for several weeks as it upgrades its plant in Belgium to increase production to 2 billion doses.
The measure to widen the dose gap aims to stretch vaccine supplies and cover more people sooner.
The first dose is believed to provide about 52% protection, but it still leaves a person at significant risk of becoming ill if they contract the virus. The two-dose vaccine is 95% effective.
The HSE is under pressure to accelerate the deployment of the vaccine, particularly for those 65 and older who are being severely affected by the increased spread in the third wave.
Under the new guidelines, vaccinators have been told to inform people who receive the first dose that they will now receive the second in 28 days.
Online editors
[ad_2]