Covid-19 Wednesday: 5 deaths, 270 new cases

THE Health Protection Surveillance Centre has today been notified of 5 additional deaths related to Covid-19.

There has now been a total of 2,074 Covid-19-related deaths in Ireland.

As of midnight Tuesday 1^st December, the HPSC has been notified of 270 confirmed cases of Covid-19. There is now a total of 73,066* confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Ireland.

Of the cases notified today:

• 141 are men / 129 are women
• 63% are under 45 years of age
• The median age is 37 years old
• 58 in Dublin, 38 in Donegal, 28 in Wicklow, 25 in Mayo, 24 in Limerick and the remaining 97 cases are spread across 21 other counties.

As of 2pm today, 231 Covid-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 31 are in ICU. 27 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours.

Dr. Tony Holohan, chief medical officer, Department of Health, said: ‘It is important to keep up the progress that we have achieved in recent weeks. Ireland now has the lowest 14-day incidence of Covid-19 in the EU according the latest ECDC figures and we need to hold firm to this position. As the country moves into Level 3, there is no room for complacency in our response to Covid-19.

‘As more services reopen for business, remember to use the basic public health advice as a guide when organising your time. When you are out in shops and accessing services, try to avoid high risk situations and wear a face covering when social distancing is not possible on busy streets and crowded outdoor areas. When you come home from shopping or being outdoors, remember that washing your hands is your first priority. For those of us who cannot work from home, the wearing of a face covering is now advised when moving around busy indoor workplaces and in communal work areas. If you are planning to travel around your county, consider first whether it is absolutely necessary to travel.

‘Your individual actions are vital to our national effort to suppress the transmission of this disease.’

The COVID-19 Dashboard provides up-to-date information on the key indicators of Covid-19 in the community.

**Validation of data at the HPSC has resulted in the denotification of 2 confirmed cases. The figure of 73,066 confirmed cases reflects this.

Today’s cases, 14-day incidence rate per 100,000 population and new cases in last 14 days (as of midnight 01 December 2020) (incidence rate based on Census 2016 county population)

Ireland’s current 7-Day incidence rate per 100,000 population is 40.2.

• To watch or listen to the Southern Star Coronavirus Podcast, please search ‘Coronavirus Podcast’ at the top right of this page or see the Southern Star on YouTube. On this week's podcast, news editor Siobhán Cronin talks well-known politician, journalist and author Shane Ross.

Shane’s father was from Cork, and he has devoted a large portion of his book ‘In Bed with the Blueshirts’, to his relationship with Cork South West TD Michael Collins, which started out very amicably, but ended with Collins apologising for a ‘scumbag’ remark made the day Ross lost his seat after last February’s general election.

• You can subscribe to the Southern Star Coronavirus podcast which is available, in audio and video versions, on YouTube, Spotify, iTunes, or wherever you get your podcasts.