Coronavirus: 33 More Deaths Confirmed

The latest national updates on Saturday 11th April.

18.43 - Breaking news:

The Health Protection Surveillance Centre has today been informed that 33 people diagnosed with COVID-19 in Ireland have died.

· 30 deaths located in the east, 3 in the west of the country

· the people included 14 females and 19 males

· the median age of today’s reported deaths is 82

· 25 people were reported as having underlying health conditions

There have now been 320* COVID-19 related deaths in Ireland.

As of 1pm Saturday 11th April, the HPSC has been notified of the following cases;

· An additional 553 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported by Irish laboratories

· An additional 286 confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported by a laboratory in Germany

With the latest German figures included, there are now a total of 8,928 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ireland.

The HSE is working to identify any contacts the patients may have had to provide them with information and advice to prevent further spread.

Today’s data from the HPSC, as of midnight, Thursday 9th April (7,787 cases) – and including German results received to that date-, reveals:

· 45% are male and 54% are female, with 356 clusters involving 1,626 cases

· the median age of confirmed cases is 48 years

· 1,718 cases (22%) have been hospitalised

· Of those hospitalised, 253 cases have been admitted to ICU

· 2,141 cases are associated with healthcare workers

· Dublin has the highest number of cases at 4,156 (53% of all cases) followed by Cork with 581 cases (8%)#

· Of those for whom transmission status is known: community transmission accounts for 66%, close contact accounts for 26%, travel abroad accounts for 8%

There are 346 confirmed cases in the midlands.

Westmeath has 181 patients with COVID-19 up 29 from yesterday.

Offaly now has 104 confirmed cases up 16.

Laois has increased to 61 from 49. 

Dr. Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health, said; “Today’s figure of 553 represents the largest number of new cases reported in a single day since the start of the outbreak.

“This should remind everyone of the importance of hand hygiene, respiratory etiquette and physical distancing. These are the actions to suppress this infection. We need to continue with them.”

Dr. Ronan Glynn, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health, said; “Earlier today a mental health and wellbeing initiative to support the mental health needs of the public through this pandemic was announced by Minister for Health, Simon Harris TD.

“It is very important that people know they are not alone during this time. This campaign will be about uniting all of us, staying connected and insuring we get through this together. More information is available at gov.ie/together.”

16.51 - Garda Checkpoints:

We're being urged not to make any non-essential journeys this Easter weekend.

Gardai have checkpoints set up across the country to make sure people are following the restrictions.

The AA's Conor Faughnan says the vast majority are complying with the government advice:

16.45 - New York:

Emergency crews in New York City are so overwhelmed they're asking people to only call 911 in "life-threatening emergencies".

The Mayor - Bill de Blasio - says public schools will also be closed for the rest of the academic year:

15.31 - UK:

England has recorded 823 new coronavirus deaths - including an 11-year-old.

The total of deaths in England is now 8,937.

208 deaths in the last 24 hours were in London while 47 more people also died in Scotland.

The figures for Northern Ireland will be released later this afternoon.

14.55 - Healthcare workers:

Over 2 thousand healthcare workers have now tested positive for Covid 19.

HSE figures show there are currently 117 outbreaks in nursing homes.

16 babies have tested positive and over half of cases are in Dublin.

Cork, Kildare, Wicklow and Meath have the highest number after that.

13.01 - Tests:

The Health Minister says the backlog of tests shipped to a German lab for analysis should be completed by the end of next week.

Simon Harris says between 25,000 and 30,000 had been sent and 14,000 have now returned.

Last night it was confirmed just over 1,000 of those are Covid-19 positive.

Minister Harris says the remaining tests left to be completed will be done over the coming days:

12.53 - Mental health:

The government's launched a new website for people struggling with their mental health during the pandemic.

It has tips on coping with stress and anxiety as well as links to online counselling options.

Kate O'Flaherty, from the Department of Health, says it's important people don't suffer alone:

  • 12.33 - Nursing homes:

    There are now 117 outbreaks of coronavirus in nursing homes across the country.

    The death toll in the Republic has risen to 288 - over half of those have been nursing home residents.

    The number of confirmed cases has been revised upwards to over 8 thousand, taking into account test results sent to a German lab.

    Dr Sarah Doyle from the HSE has acknowleged that there have been difficulties with the testing system:

    12.08 - Spain:

    There's been a steady fall in the number of coronavirus-related deaths in Spain.

    While another 510 people have died, it compares with 605 yesterday, and 683 on Thursday.

    It brings the total number of deaths since the beginning of the outbreak to 16-thousand 35

    11.53 - Vaccine:

    An Oxford professor who's working on a vaccine for coronavirus thinks a jab could be available by September.

    Sarah Gilbert told The Times she's "80 percent" confident it'll work.

    But UK Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, says it'll also take time to scale up production.

    11.07 - UK:

    The UK health secretary's been criticised for suggesting personal protective equipment should not be overused by NHS staff.

    The British Medical Association is upset with Matt Hancock for calling gloves and masks a 'precious resource'.

    There have now been just under 9-thousand deaths of hospital patients with the disease in the UK - yesterday's figure was a rise of 980.

    It's predicted the UK's toll could reach figure of a-thousand deaths a day over this weekend.

    10.52 - Exams:

    The ASTI is to consult its members in the coming days over the decision to postpone the Leaving Cert until the last week of July or early August.

    The union welcomes the announcement in principle but has a number of serious concerns about parts of the plan.

    The ASTI's Kieran Christy says they also believe the cancellation of the Junior Cert exams was the right decision:

    10.27 - Travel:

    The government is urging people not to leave their homes over the Easter weekend, unless it's an essential journey.

    The current restrictions have been extended for another three weeks, until the 5th of May.

    Enforcement powers allowing Gardai to force people to return to their homes have also been extended.

    The AA's Conor Faughnan says most people seem to be heeding the advice:

    10.09 - Shine a light:

    People across the country are being urged to "Shine a Light" at 9pm tonight to honour frontline staff and healthcare workers tackling the Covid 19 pandemic.

    Those who are sick and who've lost their lives from the virus will also be recognised as part of the initiative.

    Many people will be lighting a candle at home - but some buildings are getting involved too.

    9.47 - Taoiseach:

    Concerns have been raised about the number of people entering the country in the last few days through airports and ferry terminals.

    Taoiseach Leo Varadkar says it is being monitored, and isn't something that concerns health officials:

    9.33 - Children:

    More children are being admitted to hospital after consuming poisons than this time last year.

    It's being put down to people spending long periods in their homes throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.

    Parents are being reminded to keep medicines and detergents locked away and out of reach of kids.

    Dr.Ciara Martin, consultant in emergency medicine with Children's Health Ireland, explains how some products can affect children.

    9.04 - Exams:

    The Irish Second Level Students Union say there are still a lot of unanswered questions surrounding the state exams to take place in the summer.

    The Education Minister announced yesterday that the Leaving Cert will now begin in either late July or early August, while the Junior Cert exams have been cancelled, to be replaced with in-class assessments at the start of the next school year.

    Minister Joe McHugh has said he hopes sixth year students will have two weeks in class before the exams start.

    Sean Carey is from the secondary school students union - he says there still needs to be more clarity:

    08.48 - Testing:

    The HSE say it's able to test as many people for Covid-19 who reach the criteria.

    Colm Henry says the issue of lab capacity will be resolved in next week:

    08.27 - Restrictions:

    The Irish Council for Civil Liberties is calling on the Government carry out an audit on the impact restrictions to stop the spread of Covid-19 have on people's human rights in the country.

    The group says in particular those who are being asked to cocoon and people with physical or intellectual disabilities need to be assessed, and how the measures are impacting their day-to-day lives.

    It is recommending the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission to carry out the assessment.

    Liam Herrick, ICCL's Executive Director says more needs to be done to help those in need:

    08.00 - Latest figures:

    25 further people have died after contracting Covid-19 in the Republic.

    The death toll across the country from the disease is now 288.

    480 cases have been detected - with the total number of positive tests now standing at 8,089 confirmed cases, after over 1,000 of the 15,000 tests sent to German labs came back positive.

    In the midlands region, there are now 152 confirmed cases in Westmeath.

    In Offaly, that figure has jumped by seven to 88, 

    And Laois recorded its largest daily increase to date, rising from 37 to 49.

    Chief Medical Officer, Dr Tony Holohan says it's hoped the testing process in this country will be fit for purpose by May 4th, when restriction measures are due to be lifted:

 

 

 

 

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