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Eight more deaths and 1,276 new cases of Covid-19 have been reported tonight in the state.
One of the deaths occurred in June, two in September and five in October. There have now been a total of 1,849 Covid-19 related deaths in Ireland.
Northern Ireland has registered 1,031 new cases of Covid-19 and two more deaths.
Of the cases notified in the Republic today, 644 are men and 631 women. with 69 percent under 45 years of age.
The median age is 31 years. In Dublin a total of 278 new cases were registered; 149 in Cork; 108 in Meath; 107 in Galway; 80 in Wexford, and the remaining 554 cases were spread across 21 counties.
As of 2:00 p.m. today, 260 Covid-19 patients are hospitalized, of which 30 are in the ICU, with 12 additional hospitalizations in the last 24 hours.
Previously, it was learned that the confirmed number of cases in hospitals and intensive care units (ICUs) remains stable despite the recent increase in Covid-19 cases.
As of 8 a.m. Saturday morning, there were 260 people in the hospital as a result of Covid-19, according to the Health Services Executive (HSE).
This was 16 more of the 244 who were in the hospital at 8am on Friday morning. However, the number of Covid-19 patients is very fluid. There were 19 admissions and 18 discharges in the 24 hours.
The number of people in the ICU has also been stable over the last week with 30 people in intensive care units at 8am. There was an admission and discharge from the ICU. There are currently 31 ICU beds available throughout the system.
There are currently 31 Covid-19 patients at Cavan General Hospital, 23 at Cork University Hospital and 19 at Tallaght.
In response to the latest hospital figures, HSE CEO Paul Reid said he had spoken with the hospitals’ managers and consultants.
Their comments were that they were “coping but under pressure” and trying to protect non-Covid care.
He also said there was concern among hospital administrators that increased community transmission would lead to health service personnel falling ill “at a key time when we need them,” he said in a tweet.
He reiterated that the key to having the virus under control is the behavior of each one of us.
Speaking on Saturday on RTÉ’s Katie Hannon Show, HSE infectious disease specialist Dr. Anne Dee said that “we are facing a very difficult period ahead” and that we could still be seeing a similar situation in Italy in early year when hospitals were overwhelmed with cases.
Dr. Dee said that recent data suggests that Covid-19 is returning to the older age group.
“Very quickly we could find ourselves in a position of not being able to cope and our health services being overwhelmed,” he said.
“The trajectory is very scary upwards. In recent weeks we have seen Covid-19 in homes. We are seeing it now going back to nursing homes. A lot goes back to mixing and socializing with alcohol, ”he said.
“We need to stop at this point and get back under control.”
During the week, HSE National Clinical Advisor Dr. Colm Henry said that the stabilization of the number of ICU units is the result of the virus affecting a younger cohort of the population.
He also claimed that doctors have better treatments for the disease, preventing people from entering ICUs.
He predicted that the number of hospitals and ICUs will increase as community transmission increases and the virus enters the older age groups that are most vulnerable to the disease.
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