*Friends trying to maintain social distance at Kinvara. Photograph: BurrenEye Photography
More than 10,000 people in the Republic of Ireland have been diagnosed with Coronavirus with an additional thirteen individuals diagnosed in Co Clare.
31 more people have died in the Republic of Ireland from Coronavirus with an additional 992 cases confirmed, thirteen of which are in Co Clare.
Following a surge of fourteen cases in two days, Clare’s tally has risen once again, this time by thirteen. Three more people have received confirmation they have tested positive for the virus as of Friday April 10th. A number of residents in the county are still waiting on test results.
Speaking on Monday morning, HSE Chief Executive Paul Reid said today’s backlog figure of 11,000 would be “reduced completely” by the end of this week.
Of the latest deaths that the Health Protection Surveillance Centre have been informed of, 26 were located in the east, 3 in the north west, 1 in the south and 1 in the west of Ireland. They include 18 females and 13 males, 82 is reported as their median age with 25 believed to have underlying conditions.
To date, there have been 365 deaths in the country. 215 (59%) of those who died were male, 150 (41%) were female, 82 was the median age, 247 were admitted to hospital and 37 to ICU.
As of 11:15am today (Monday), the HPSC have confirmed an additional 527 cases from Irish laboratories and 465 from German labs. It now brings to 10,647 the amount of confirmed cases in the country.
“Today marks a milestone in Ireland’s experience of COVID-19 as we see the number of confirmed cases exceed 10,000. The number of community cases of COVID-19 shows why we continue to need the public health measures that we currently have in place,” Chief Medical Officer, Dr Tony Holohan stated.
He added, “I understand that the current restrictions are tough, especially during a bank holiday weekend when in normal circumstances most of us would have met up with family and friends but I ask that the public continue to work with us and follow the guidelines that are in place. The next three weeks will prove crucial to Ireland’s COVID-19 story and by working together we give ourselves the best chance to slow the spread and save lives.”
Community transmission is attributed to causing two thirds of all cases in the Ireland followed by close contact (27%) and travel abroad (7%).
Research conducted on behalf of the Department of Health shows that the percentage of the population who feel we are experiencing the worst of the pandemic right now has risen strongly from 11% on 16 March to 37% today, though 55% feel the worst is still ahead of us.
Less people are sitting apart from others according to the survey of 1,270 adults, however the amount of individuals washing hands and using sanitizer has increased. The vast majority are staying at home rather than going out: up from 78% on 16 March to 90% currently. A significant proportion of the population reported feelings of worry (43%) and anxiety (38%), a similar amount reported feelings of enjoyment (46%) and happiness (36%) in today’s survey.
At Monday evening’s press briefing, Dr Holohan said restrictions won’t end on May 5th. He cautioned that reopening places too soon or the holding of mass gatherings could “undo all good work done”.
Errors relating to test results where individuals were told they had tested negative when in fact they had the virus caused “no great public health significant,” he stated. The matter will be discussed fully by the National Public Health Emergency Team.
As reported last week, the reproductive number stands at approximately one, should this be maintained health officials don’t forecast a significant increase in the amount of confirmed cases in the next three weeks. The measures to date have helped “to get us there”.
“If it continues to be the pattern it would give us assurance that the capacity in our healthcare system will be able to deal” with further rises, Dr Holohan commented.
He said that May 5th is a target, by then the NPHET expect to have identified which measures could possibly be lifted first. “By relaxing some restrictions, we have to be ready for a possible increase and what to do then,” he outlined.
