Coronavirus: One further death and 429 new cases
By William O'Connor
The Health Protection Surveillance Centre has today been informed that 1 person with COVID-19 has died.
There has now been a total of 1,804 COVID-19 related deaths in Ireland.
As of midnight Tuesday, 29 September, the HPSC has been notified of 429 confirmed cases of COVID-19. There is now a total of 36,155* confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ireland.
Of the cases notified today;
- · 203 are men / 226 are women
- · 65% are under 45 years of age
- · 45% are confirmed to be associated with outbreaks or are close contacts of a confirmed case
- · 77 cases have been identified as community transmission
- · 189 cases are in Dublin, 60 in Cork, 31 in Donegal, 28 in Galway, 18 in Kildare, 15 in Wicklow, 15 in Clare, 12 in Limerick, 9 in Meath, 8 in Louth, 7 in Cavan, 7 in Longford, 6 in Laois, 5 in Offaly, 5 in Westmeath, with the remaining 14 cases in 8 counties.
The HSE is working to identify any contacts the patients may have had to provide them with information and advice to prevent further spread.
The COVID-19 Dashboard provides up-to-date information on the key indicators of COVID-19 in the community.
Dr Ronan Glynn, Acting Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health, said: “This evening there are 130 people with COVID-19 in hospital – 15 in the last 24 hours. Recently we asked everyone to half their social contacts.
Reducing the number of people that we meet – and engaging safely with a small core group – remains the cornerstone of our collective effort to reduce the spread of this virus and its impact on our health and the health of the people that we care about.”
Dr Colm Henry, Chief Clinical Officer, HSE, said: “Community transmission represents the greatest threat to patients and staff in hospitals and residential care facilities.
When you are making plans to meet friends and socialise this week, take a minute to consider our healthcare workers, who have been at the frontline since the beginning of the pandemic, in hospitals, in nursing homes and in our homes, caring for those who are ill and those who are the most vulnerable to this highly infectious virus.
Every time you wear a facemask, wash your hands, cover your coughs and keep your distance, your actions are not only preventing the transmission of the virus, but you are also protecting older and vulnerable people and healthcare workers.”
Professor Philip Nolan, Chair of the NPHET Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group, said: “The R number is now between 1.2 and 1.4.
While we are cautiously optimistic about Dublin, we have seen relatively high case numbers in the last few days, and it will be a number of days yet before the pattern is clear.
Case numbers are clearly rising across the country. We need to remain vigilant, to ensure we do not lose the ground that we have gained across the capital city since we moved to Level 3, and to ensure we do not see further deterioration outside the capital.”
Dr Breda Smyth, Director of Public Health, HSE West, “I am asking people of all ages to play their part to suppress this virus. It is important for everyone to stay connected, but you need to do this in a safe way, at a distance, and virtually as much as you can.
If you have symptoms, stay at home, call your doctor to arrange for a test and let the people that you live with know about it as soon as possible.
If you find out that you are close contact, please come forward for testing.
Remember that COVID-19 is a highly infectious disease that can have a devastating impact on your health at any age.”
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