Number of people in emergency departments halves over Covid-19 fears

Younger people were less likely to attend EDs, according to the research, while there was a decline in the number of attendances classed as urgent.

The number of people attending emergency departments (EDs) fell sharply in the weeks after the outbreak of Covid-19 in Ireland.

Research published today by the ESRI shows the average number of daily attendances at EDs in the last week of March was roughly half that of the numbers attending in the first week of the month.