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The Health Department confirmed six more deaths in Ireland tonight from the coronavirus.
This brings the total number of Covid-related deaths in the country since the outbreak began to 1,896.
The Health Protection Surveillance Center (HPSC) also confirmed 675 new cases today, bringing the total number of reported cases to 59,434.
328 patients are hospitalized with Covid-19 and 41 of them are receiving intensive care treatment. In the last 24 hours there were 19 additional hospitalizations.
Dublin had the most cases with 199 confirmed, followed by Cork with 104.
Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr. Tony Holohan urged the public to self-isolate if they show symptoms of the virus or are waiting for a Covid-19 test.
“Everyone should be aware of the actions to take if they have symptoms or are waiting for a test or are a contact for a confirmed case,” said Dr. Holohan. “If you have symptoms of Covid-19, you should isolate yourself and call your GP for more advice.”
“If you’ve been referred for a test or are waiting for a test result, you need to isolate yourself.
“If you are identified or have been identified as a close contact of a confirmed case, you must restrict your movements. Stay informed on public health advice on Covid-19 and be prepared to protect yourself and those around you, ”said Dr. Holohan.
The national 14-day incident rate now averages 299.0 per 100,000 of the population, by comparison, this was the lowest rate in July earlier this year at 2.98 cases per 100,000 of the population.
This is a slight drop from yesterday’s national average when the 14-day incident rate was 307.6 cases per 100,000 residents.
A further breakdown of the HPSC Covid-19 case data shows:
- 309 cases are men and 364 are women
- 65% of cases are under 45 years of age.
- The average age is 35 years.
- 199 cases occurred in Dublin, 104 in Cork, 67 in Meath, 50 in Limerick, 41 in Kildare
- The remaining 214 confirmed cases are spread across 20 other counties.
The latest case numbers come as the number of new Covid-19 clusters in nursing homes has tripled this week.
The latest HSE figures show that 15 have been recorded, down from 5 the previous week.
There are 19 new groups in daycare centers, an increase of 12, while there have been another 46 in schools, the same number as the previous week.
New outbreaks in private homes have gone from 461 to 521 this week, while cases of coronavirus in meat plants have increased fivefold from 7 to 41.
Meanwhile, 94% of the people who died from Covid-19 in Ireland had an underlying health condition. 44% had chronic heart disease and 16% had cancer. The HPSC said 27% of confirmed cases had an underlying condition.
Previously, the HSE insisted that the Covid-19 contact tracing system is now back on track.
It comes after nearly 2,000 people who tested positive over a weekend earlier this month were asked to do their own contact tracing.
The HSE has apologized to them, but says it was the only viable option due to the recent spike in coronavirus cases.
Niamh O’Beirne, national testing and tracing leader, said efforts are underway to strengthen the system.
Ms. O’Beirne said: “Since Friday October 23, our contact tracing system has returned to normal and has achieved its metrics of contacting all close contacts within 24 hours of notification of a positive case.
“In order to ensure that we can address future demand, the HSE continues to recruit additional contact trackers.
“More than 800 people are going through our interview process, 274 new hires have joined and another 90 will join by the end of this week.”
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