Clare’s 14 day incidence rate per 100k of the population has dropped to below 100 while less than five new cases of the virus have emerged in the county while the Chief Medical Officer has expressed concern with “worrying” developments nationally.
On Sunday evening, the Department of Heath announced 378 new cases of COVID-19 in the Republic of Ireland. 124 of which are in Dublin, 34 in Donegal, 23 in Louth, 19 in Cork, 19 in Limerick and the remaining 159 cases are spread across 20 other counties including less than five in Co Clare.
A positive development has seen the 14 day incidence rate per 100k of the population drop to 93.4 in Clare. The national rate stands at 126.9. The incidence rate is a measure of the frequency with which a disease occurs over a specified time period.
One new death has been notified to the Health Protection Surveillance Centre. Since March, 1,979 persons have died from Coronavirus in the Republic of Ireland.
Services at Ennis Hospital and University Hospital Limerick have been reduced following outbreaks of COVID-19 with several wards closed. Across the country, 5 hospitalisations were recorded in the past 24 hours, one of the lowest figures in recent weeks. As of 2pm, 249 patients were being treated in Irish hospitals for the virus, 31 of which are in ICU.
Speaking on Sunday, Dr Tony Holohan flagged that the average daily five day case count is rising and is now over 400 daily. “This is a worrying development which has persisted for the last few days. We are seeing a number of things which concern us. There are examples of small numbers of people congregating for social purposes and simply ignoring the important public health messages. They are putting our collective progress at risk”.
“We are also seeing number of outbreaks across the country. These include outbreaks in association with funerals. We understand that this is a difficult time for families but it is really important that we do everything we can to avoid the circumstances which promote transmission of the virus,” the Chief Medical Officer added.
He appealed to people to work from home where possible. “There have also been outbreaks associated with workplace settings. As we head into a new working week, we need stay at home other than for essential reasons and for personal exercise within 5km. Anyone who can work from home, should work from home”.
