Coronavirus: 25 further deaths and 480 new cases confirmed
By William O'Connor
25 patients have died from COVID-19 and 480 new cases have been confirmed by The Health Protection Surveillance Centre.
23 deaths were located in the east and two in the west of the country and the people included 11 females and 14 males.
The median age of today’s reported deaths is 85 and 16 people were reported as having underlying health conditions.
There have now been 288 COVID-19 related deaths in Ireland.
The Health Protection Surveillance Centre has been informed of 480 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ireland, as at 1pm, Friday, April 10.
To date, there has been c.14,000 samples returned from German labs, of which 1,035 were positive.
With the latest German figures included, there are now 8,089 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ireland.
The HSE is now working to identify any contacts the patients may have had to provide them with information and advice to prevent further spread.
Today’s data from the HPSC, as of midnight, Wednesday 8th April (7,071 cases) – and including German results received to that date-, reveals:
45% are male and 54% are female, with 339 clusters involving 1,512 cases;
the median age of confirmed cases is 48 years;
1,631 cases (23%) have been hospitalised;
Of those hospitalised, 244 cases have been admitted to ICU;
1,949 cases are associated with healthcare workers;
Dublin has the highest number of cases at 3,873, (55% of all cases) followed by Cork with 503 cases (7%);
Of those for whom transmission status is known: community transmission accounts for 66%, close contact accounts for 26%, travel abroad accounts for 8%;
The National Public Health Emergency Team met today (Friday 10th April) and made the following recommendations, which Government has since accepted;;
Extension of current public health measures effective until midnight, Monday 4th May 2020, pending further review by the National Public Health Emergency Team.
NPHET will continue to oversee the deployment of public health measures to address outbreaks and clusters in residential heath care and hospital settings.
Dr Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health, said; “We are at a very delicate and critical point in our response to this disease. While measures to date have succeeded in reducing the spread, COVID-19 remains a risk to the people of Ireland.
“We know how difficult the measures in place can be on individuals, on families, on friends, so we don’t make these recommendations likely, but they are necessary at this time.
“We are once again asking you to stay home, stay apart, follow the guidelines and limit the spread of COVID-19”
Dr Colm Henry, Chief Clinical Officer, HSE said; “The rate of infection in nursing homes is higher than in the community, and within nursing homes there is a higher proportion of people infected.
“The HSE is working to support residential care facilities through advice on infection prevention and control, staff support and expert clinical advice.
“The ECDC has highlighted infection control measures to protect vulnerable populations in nursing homes, which Ireland is following.”
