Three deaths and 1,167 new confirmed cases in Ireland

MORE 1,167 new cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed in Ireland, the Department of Health said tonight.

In a statement, it said that three other people who were confirmed to have Covid-19 had died.

The total number of people who contracted Covid-19 and died in Ireland is 1,868, and the total number of cases is now 53,422 *.

Of the cases reported today:

• 538 are men and 627 are women
• 64% are under 45
• The average age is 33 years.
• 263 in Dublin, 142 in Meath, 137 in Cork, 86 in Cavan and the remaining 539 cases are distributed in all the remaining counties.

At 2:00 p.m. today, 314 Covid-19 patients are hospitalized, of which 34 are in the ICU. There have been 27 additional hospitalizations in the last 24 hours.

More than 112,000 tests have been completed in the last seven days, with 16,583 in the last 24 hours. There is a test positivity rate of 7.1% for the past seven days, which compares with an overall positivity rate of 3.9%.

The 14-day incidence rate per county, at midnight yesterday, is:

Medical Director Dr. Tony Holohan said: “The behavior of each individual is the most effective defense we have against the spread of Covid-19.

“Everyone needs to stay home, except for essential reasons. Follow public health advice and treat everyone you come in contact with as if they were a close contact of someone with Covid-19 – keep your distance, avoid meeting other people.

We face a great challenge, but we have faced it before, and that means we know how to suppress this virus, following public health advice in everything we do.

Starting at midnight tonight, the country will be placed under Level 5 restrictions.

Shops and non-essential services will be closed, while people are advised not to go more than 5 km from their home, except for essential reasons.

* Validation of data at the HPSC has resulted in the denotification of a confirmed case. The figure of 53,422 confirmed cases reflects this.