*Photograph: John Mangan
46 new cases of COVID-19 have been diagnosed in Co Clare among the 2,488 in the Republic of Ireland while an additional 61 deaths are known.
Clare has reported 46 new cases of the virus while the 14 day incidence rate per 100k of the population has dropped to 1,285.2. In the past fortnight, 1,527 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in the county.
Nationally, there are 2,488 new cases. 726 in Dublin, 314 in Cork, 148 in Galway, 133 in Limerick, 130 in Meath and the remaining 1,037 cases are spread across all other counties.
According to the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET), 61 more individuals have died as a result of COVID-19 in the Republic of Ireland, 58 of which were recorded this month. The median age of those who died was 83 years and the age range was 41-100 years.
There are 211 patients in critical care as of 11am on Wednesday while in total 1,923 persons are in hospital across the country because of Coronavirus. 85 hospitalisations were observed over the past 24 hours.
A “persisting high incidence rate” of the virus “shows that we cannot underestimate the highly infectious nature of this disease and the impact that it can have on families and communities,” Dr Tony Holohan stated.
He added, “The virus spreads through close contacts, through the congregation of people. We need everyone to stay at home as much as possible, and to work from home, where possible. You should not meet up with friends or loved ones, unless you are caring for them. If you go out for exercise, you need to stay within 5km from your home, wear a face covering where appropriate and wash your hands when you return home to protect yourself from infection”.
