Covid-19 Tuesday: 41 more patients have died, 832 more cases confirmed

THE Department of Health has today said that 41 people diagnosed with Covid-19 in Ireland have died. It also said it ‘remains concerned’ about the level of cases in nursing homes.

•        36 deaths located in the east, 4 in the west, 1 in the south of the country
•        the people included 16 females and 25 males
•        the median age of today’s reported deaths is 85
•        31 people were reported as having underlying health conditions

There have now been 406 Covid-19 related deaths in Ireland.

As of 1pm Tuesday 14th April, the HPSC has been notified of the following cases:

•        An additional 548 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 reported by Irish laboratories
•        An additional 284 confirmed cases of Covid-19 reported by a laboratory in Germany

With the latest figures from Germany included, there are now a total of 11,479 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Ireland, 780 of these are in Co Cork.

The HSE is working to identify any contacts the patients may have had to provide them with information and advice to prevent further spread.

As of midnight Monday 13^th April, 90,646 tests have been carried out. Of these tests:

•        62,952 have been completed in Irish laboratories
•        27,694 completed in a laboratory in Germany

Over the past week, 20,468 tests were carried out in Irish laboratories and of these 4,233 were positive, giving a positivity rate of 21%.

Dr Cillian De Gascun, chair of NPHET’s expert advisory group said: ‘Having come through a challenging few weeks, we have significantly strengthened testing capacity and will continue to do so over the coming week, to put us in a very strong position to identify and suppress the virus.’

Today’s data from the HPSC, as of midnight, Sunday 12th April (10,385 cases), reveals:

•        54% are female and 45% are male, with 408 clusters involving 1,999 cases
•        the median age of confirmed cases is 48 years
•        1,903 cases (18%) have been hospitalised
•        Of those hospitalised, 275 cases have been admitted to ICU
•        2,707 cases are associated with healthcare workers
•        Dublin has the highest number of cases at 5,438 (52% of all cases) followed by Cork with 780 cases (8%).

The National Public Health Emergency Team met today (Tuesday 14^th April) to continue its ongoing review of Ireland’s response to COVID-19. Discussed at today’s meeting;

•        Residential care settings; In addition to existing protective measures and financial supports, HSE will put in place a coordinated national process to identify the prevalence of COVID-19 across nursing homes and other residential healthcare settings; as recommended by the ECDC.
•        Testing; HPSC to develop a strategy to conduct a seroprevalence study which will identify the proportion of the population who have ever had COVID-19, regardless of testing.

Dr Tony Holohan, chief medical officer, Department of Health, said: ‘We remain concerned about the prevalence of Covid-19 in nursing homes and residential care settings. The National Public Health Emergency Team is monitoring developments in these facilities and continues to advance supports and actions where needed. From the beginning, we have been aware that vulnerable groups, including the elderly, are at greater risk from this virus. These groups will continue to be our priority.’

Dr Colm Henry, chief clinical officer, HSE, said: ‘We are not seeing a significant increase in the number of Covid-19 positive cases in our hospitals or our ICUs over the last number of days, and that is down to the efforts of every individual who has followed advice to stay apart and slow the spread of the virus. To everyone playing their part, the health service is grateful.’

The Department of Health’s COVID-19 Information Dashboard (click here) provides the latest case information.