Covid-19 Wednesday: three new deaths, 84 further cases reported

The Health Protection Surveillance Centre has today (Wednesday) been informed that three people with Covid-19 have died.

There has now been a total of 1,781 Covid-19-related deaths in Ireland.

As of midnight on Tuesday 8^th, the HPSC has been notified of 84 confirmed cases of Covid-19. There is now a total of 30,164 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ireland.

Of the cases notified today,

• 32 are men and 52 are women

66% are under 45 years of age

• 30% are confirmed to be associated with outbreaks or are close contacts of a confirmed case
• 8 cases have been identified as community transmission
• 51 in Dublin, 6 in Offaly, 5 in Kildare and the remaining 22 cases are located in Cork, Donegal, Galway, Mayo, Meath, Roscommon, Tipperary, Westmeath and Wicklow.

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: ‘We continue to see a concerning pattern of cases, particularly in Dublin. Transmission is diffuse across the county, is in all age groups and is mainly being driven by social interaction within and between households.’

Professor Philip Nolan, chair of the NPHET Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group, said: ‘While the reproduction number for Ireland as a whole is close to 1.0, the reproduction number for Dublin alone is approximately 1.4. We are seeing increasing case numbers in Dublin, growing close to 5% per day.

‘If this were to continue, the number of cases would double every 14 days. Given the size of Dublin’s population it is essential we prevent any further spread now – by limiting our social contacts and taking precautions during any essential contacts.”

Dr Colm Henry, chief clinical officer, HSE, said: ‘The greatest risk of transmission to school children is in the home setting. International experience reveals that reopening of schools has not been associated with significantly increasing community transmission. Instead, it is transmission of virus within communities that poses the greatest threat to schools. Again, we urge all households to think through their social plans. To keep within the six indoor and 15 outdoor person gathering limits and apply physical distancing in all settings.”

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