*Photograph: John Mangan
More young people in Ireland are continuing to be diagnosed with COVID-19 prompting anxiety among health officials as 23 new cases and 6 deaths were recorded in the country.
No update on latest figures on a county by county basis were forthcoming from the Department of Health despite requests from The Clare Echo. As of Wednesday, Co Clare had went fifteen successive days without a new case.
Two deaths have been de-notified in the past 24 hours but a further six deaths have been recorded by the Health Protection Surveillance Centre. The death toll in the country from COVID-19 is 1,734.
In what is the second highest amount of daily confirmed cases in the space of two weeks, 23 new cases have been recorded by the HPSC. To date, 25,437 individuals have tested positive for the virus, over 90% of which have since recovered.
Chief Medical Officer, Dr Tony Holohan flagged that 10 of the 23 confirmed cases on Saturday involved younger adults under the age of 35, 8 cases were attributed to individuals in between the 35-54 age bracket.
“This is now a real concern and a worrying trend at a time when many people are reconnecting with friends and loved ones and may be gathering in larger groups. In recent days, for example, some cases have had large numbers of close contacts that have required testing and self-isolation for 14 days,” he stated.
Dr Holohan commented, “COVID-19 is an infection that affects all ages and it is incumbent on all of us to take our individual responsibility seriously. I cannot emphasise enough how important it is to remain informed, keep a 2m distance from others and follow the public health advice on hand washing, cough and sneeze hygiene, and wearing face coverings.”
