[ad_1]
There have been eight more deaths from Covid-19 with 499 new cases of the virus in Ireland, while a positive case has also been detected in Limerick prison.
The National Public Health Emergency Team has revealed that the death toll from the virus in Ireland is now 1,940 and the total number of cases is 64,538.
175 of the current cases are in Dublin, 72 in Cork and 29 in Limerick.
There are 26 cases in May, 21 in Meath, and the remaining 176 cases are spread across 19 other counties.
From today’s cases:
- 244 are men / 249 are women
- 68% are under 45
- The average age is 32 years.
Nphet has recorded that as of midnight on November 5, the 14-day incidence rate is 196.4 cases.
Donegal has the highest incidence rate at 14 days per 100,000 residents, followed by Meath, Cavan and Cork.
At 2:00 p.m. on Friday, 292 Covid-19 patients were in the hospital, of which 37 were in the ICU. There were 24 additional hospitalizations in the previous 24 hours.
The Irish Prison Service confirmed late Friday that a prisoner had tested positive for Covid-19 in Limerick prison and had been isolated in accordance with infection control procedures.
“The Irish Prison Service is working closely with Public Health and the CHO testing team at the HSE and contact tracing is ongoing,” said a Prison Service spokesman.
“The positive case concerns Division D of the prison and arrangements have been made for all prisoners housed in this area to be examined.
“All other prisoners and staff at Limerick Prison are being screened as a precaution.”
The spokesperson said that an Outbreak Control Team (OCT) meeting has been held to review the situation and mitigate the possible spread of the disease within the prison.
In total, there are around 64 inmates in Division D and 237 total inmates at Limerick Prison, along with between 250 and 275 staff.
Meanwhile, the chairman of Nphet’s Epidemiological Modeling Advisory Group has said that the public began modifying their behavior seven to 10 days before the Level 5 restrictions were introduced because “the public realized we were in trouble. “.
Professor Philip Nolan told RTÉ radio’s News at One that Level 3 restrictions had helped stabilize the figures, but that those measures did not produce a reduction in cases, which had occurred due to Level 5.
“The Reproductive (R) number is now below one and we believe it is decreasing,” he added.
The decline in Covid numbers was a “testament to the collective actions we have all taken.”
Also speaking at RTÉ, HSE Clinical Director Dr. Colm Henry said the prospect of people getting together for Christmas looked good, but Level 5 measures should continue for five weeks.
“We want Christmas to be safe, but we also want January and February to be safe,” he said.
However, infectious disease expert Professor Sam McConkey warned that if travel to Ireland was allowed for Christmas, there could be a subsequent increase in Covid cases.
While he was confident that “we can get out of the red zone in the first week of December,” he was concerned that “allowing everyone to come back” would see an increase in cases.
Earlier, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said that the government intends to maintain pressure on the virus so that the country can reopen next month.
He said that while the trajectory of Covid-19 in Ireland has been downward, the country still has a bit of a distance to go.
Speaking to Sky News, he said: “We are at the highest level of restrictions at the moment, and the combination of the last number of weeks is resulting in a significant reduction in the number of cases.
“We still have a little distance to go.
“We intend to keep the pressure on the virus to be able to open in December and in the months of January, February and March. Hopefully, a vaccine will arrive by the end of the year that will give people some hope. “
[ad_2]