Five more people have tested positive for COVID-19 in Clare and 212 additional cases have been reported in the Republic of Ireland as 14 more deaths were recorded.
Seven women and seven men died from Coronavirus, the Health Protection Surveillance Centre confirmed on Wednesday evening. Ten of the deaths were in the east and four in the south of Ireland. Eight of them had underlying health conditions, officials stated.
85 COVID-19 related deaths have occurred in the Republic since the outbreak. There has been 3,447 confirmed cases in total.
Data released from the HPSC from Monday’s 2,990 cases highlighted more women than men were contracting the virus for the first time. 563 cases are in 134 clusters with 48 years old noted as the median age.
834 cases have resulted in hospitalisation and 126 of these have been sent to the ICU. A quarter of all diagnoses have been of healthcare workers. Community transmission now accounts for 60% of all cases with close contact responsible for 21% and travel abroad 18%.
Dublin continues to have the highest amount of confirmed cases with 55% followed by Cork (8%). Clare’s tally has risen to 45 and includes those that have recovered from COVID-19.
Research conducted on behalf of the Department of Health shows that 65% of people in Ireland are engaging in digital interactions with family and friends. The survey got the views of 1,270 adults, 89% of whom believe current social distancing measures are appropriate and 94% are confident they can adhere to the restrictions.
As reported by The Clare Echo earlier today, criticism has been voiced locally and nationally with the length of time it takes for results to be carried out. The average wait for a result to be made known is between 7-10 days while women in Clare have been eighteen days awaiting their result.
Expanded contact tracing for all confirmed cases in the forty eight hours prior to the onset of symptoms will commence this week, Dr Ronan Glynn, Deputy Chief Medical Officer with the Department of Health confirmed. He was adamant, “This will reduce transmission of the virus”.
Dr. Colm Henry, Chief Clinical Officer, HSE said; “The public health messaging remains the same for all patients awaiting testing. Assume you have COVID19 and isolate. Each and everyone of you can break the chain of transmission of the virus, save lives and reduce illness among vulnerable groups.”
