Covid-19: 17 more deaths, 331 more cases reported on Saturday

The Health Protection Surveillance Centre has today been informed that 17 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 in Ireland have died.

• 15 deaths located in the east, 1 in the south, 1 in the west of the country
• The patients included 4 females and 13 males
• 13 patients were reported as having underlying health conditions
• Median age of today’s reported deaths is 77

There have now been 137 COVID-19 related deaths in Ireland.

The median age of deaths in Ireland is 81.

The Health Protection Surveillance Centre has been informed of 331 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ireland, as of 1pm, Saturday 4th April.

There are now 4,604 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.

Dr. Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health, said; “This week, the National Public Health Emergency Team made a range of recommendations to support the response in nursing homes and long-term residential facilities to COVID-19. This remains a priority for our focused attention and we will continue to monitor the rate of infection within these environments and support the sector through this outbreak.

“The nationwide, collective effort to limit the spread of COVID-19 has been inspiring. We must keep up this effort, continue to protect the vulnerable in our society and ultimately flatten the curve.”

Today’s data from HPSC, as of midnight, Thursday 2nd April 2020 (4,014 cases), reveals:

• 48% are male and 52% are female, with 206 clusters involving 838 cases
• Median age of confirmed cases is 48 years
• 1,118 cases (28%) have been hospitalised
• Of those hospitalised, 158 cases have been admitted to ICU
• 1,084 cases (27%) are associated with healthcare workers
• Dublin has the highest number of cases at 2,251 (56% of all cases) followed by Cork with 304 cases (8%)
• Of those for whom transmission status is known: community transmission accounts for 62%, close contact accounts for 24%, travel abroad accounts for 14%

Department of Health’s COVID-19 Information Dashboard; providing latest case information.