Covid-19: 15 further deaths, 1,247 new cases confirmed in Ireland

Speaking this evening, Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan urged employers to make efforts to facilitate their employees working from home. Picture: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie

A further 15 people have died as a result of contracting Covid-19, health officials have confirmed.  

The Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HSPC) said all of the deaths today occurred in January.

The median age of those who died is 84 years and the age range is 68-99 years.

There has now been a total of 3,307 Covid-19-related deaths in Ireland since the outbreak began last year.

The HPSC also says that, as of midnight last night, it had been notified of 1,247 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the country.

There has now been a total of 196,547 confirmed cases here.

Of the cases confirmed this evening:

• 579 are men;
• 659 are women; 
• 60% are under 45 years of age; 
• The median age is 39 years old;
• 430 of the cases are located in Dublin;
• 97 are in Wexford;
• 87 are in Cork;
• 84 are in Limerick;
• 76 in Galway; 
• and the remaining 473 cases are spread across all other counties

As of 2pm today, 1,516 Covid-19 patients were hospitalised -  211 of whom were in intensive care units. 

39 additional hospitalisations have been recorded in the past 24 hours.

The national 14-day incidence rate per 100,000 population now stands at 501.0. The 7-day Incidence rate is 189.7

Speaking this evening, Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan urged employers to make efforts to facilitate their employees working from home.

“There is an onus on employers to ensure that, in the first instance, staff are encouraged to work from home and in cases where that is not possible, that their workplaces are safe for staff and customers and in full compliance with infection prevention and control measures," Dr Holohan said.

“The HPSC has comprehensive guidance on outbreak management and infection prevention control measures that every employer should be familiar with and activating on their premises. 

"I encourage all employers and managers to review their workplaces and ensure they have effective measures in place,” he added.

The HPSC also said validation of data has resulted in the denotification of three previously confirmed cases. 

The figure of 196,547 total confirmed cases above reflects these denotifications.