There were 3 deaths related to COVID-19 reported by the Department of Health today, along with 254 newly confirmed coronavirus cases.
The coronavirus pandemic has now claimed 1,788 lives in the Republic of Ireland, and the country has experienced a cumulative total of 31,799 cases.
Of the cases reported today, 6 are in Galway, while more than half of are located in Dublin, 136 in total.
Validation of data at the HPSC has resulted in the denotification of 4 previously confirmed cases
- 115 are men and 133 are women
- 65% are under 45 years of age
- 61% are confirmed to be associated with outbreaks or are close contacts of a confirmed case
- 24 cases have been identified as community transmission
- 136 are in Dublin, 20 in Donegal, 13 in Louth, 12 in Wicklow, 9 in Waterford, 7 Carlow, 7 in Cork, 6 in Galway, 5 in Kerry, 5 in Wexford and the remaining 28 cases are located in Clare, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Leitrim, Limerick, Longford, Mayo, Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon and Westmeath
“The current situation has deteriorated both in Dublin and nationally over the past week. Along with Dublin we have seen particularly concerning trends in Louth, Waterford and Donegal,” said Dr Ronan Glynn, Acting Chief Medical Officer.
“It is now absolutely essential that people action public health advice and act as if they or those close to them are potentially infectious.”
The reproduction number for the coronavirus now stands at between 1.3 and 1.7 nationally.
Professor Philip Nolan, Chair of the NPHET Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group, said that he is more concerned now than at any point since April.
“Case numbers appear to be growing exponentially and are likely to double every 10 to 14 days if every one of us does not immediately act to break chains of transmission of the virus.”
He warned that if we do not bring the r number back to below 1, modelling shows there could be up to 600-1000 cases a day by mid-October, more than half of which would be in Dublin.
Dr. Mary Favier, COVID-19 advisor to the Irish College of General Practitioners, said that while there has been large scale testing of children, the “vigilance of parents” about keeping an eye out for symptoms means there has not been a disproportionate rise in the number of confirmed cases in children.
