Covid-19: 52 further deaths, 866 new cases confirmed in Ireland
Speaking at this evening's briefing, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Dr Ronan Glynn said: he was "cautiously optimistic about the epidemiological situation across the country." Picture: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie
52 further deaths from Covid-19 have been confirmed this evening by Department of Health officials.
33 of these deaths occurred in February, 12 occurred in January, six were in December or earlier and one is still under investigation.
The median age of those who died was 83 years and the age range was 55 - 96 years.
The newest figures bring the total number of Covid-19 related deaths here to 3,846.
The Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) also confirmed 866 new cases of the virus here.
The total number of cases confirmed in Ireland since the outbreak began is now 206,801.
14,265 cases have been confirmed in the last two weeks alone.
The 14-day incidence rate of the virus is now 299.6 per 100,000 population. The seven-day incidence rate is 129.2
As of 8am this morning, 984 Covid-19 patients were hospitalised, 172 of whom were in ICU.
44 additional hospitalisations have been reported in the past 24 hours.
- 401 are men;
- 463 are women;
- 65% are under 45 years of age;
- The median age is 35 years old;
- 281 are located in Dublin;
- 63 are in Galway;
- 56 are in Kildare;
- 47 are in Meath;
- 39 are in Cork;
- and the remaining 380 cases are spread across all other counties.
The HPSC also noted that validation of data has resulted in the denotification of previously confirmed Covid-19 cases.
The figure of 206,801 cases reflects these denotifications.
As of February 8, 242,353 doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been administered in Ireland - 154,900 people have received their first dose, and 88,453 people have received their second dose.
Speaking at this evening's briefing, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Dr Ronan Glynn said he was "cautiously optimistic about the epidemiological situation across the country."
"This positive momentum has been achieved through the dedication of people across the country in recent weeks.
"However, incidence and mortality rates are still very high, and the significant risk of community transmission of the virus remains, especially for those most vulnerable to Covid-19 infection."
Dr Glynn said it remained "of vital importance" that people continue to stay at home and to work from home where at all possible.
Chair of the National Immunisation Advisory Committee, Professor Karina Butler said that news of 242,353 vaccines doses being administered was "a wonderful achievement."
Prof Butler thanked all vaccine administration teams for their dedication and hard work.
"We hope that as our vaccination numbers go up, we can offer more protection those who are vaccinated and ultimately the wider population," she said.
But, until that time, all of us, including those of us who have received our Covid-19 vaccines, must maintain our adherence to all of the other public health measures like washing our hands and social distancing.”
Chair of the NPHET Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group, Professor Philip Nolan said that the HSE's move to has begin to test close contacts of confirmed cases was "positive."
However, Prof Nolan noted that positivity rates among household contacts was quite high, close to 30%.
This, he said, was a timely reminder to the public to immediately isolate ourselves if they have any symptoms.
He also urged people to continue to limit social contacts.
"Do not visit another person’s household unless you are providing essential care,” he said.
National Clinical Director Health Protection HSE - Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC), Dr Lorraine Doherty said that the Covid-19 find-test-trace-isolate process was "vital" to efforts to halt the spread of the virus.
"We all need to contact our GP as soon as symptoms occur, to go for a test, trace our contacts if our test is positive and prevent further infections.
"It is important to remember that everyone can access testing free of charge. Testing and contact tracing are vital to our ongoing collective efforts to minimise the spread of Covid-19,” she said.
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