Coronavirus: Department Of Health Confirms Another 38 Deaths

Latest news updates for Wednesday 15th April 2020.

18.23 - Midlands Figures:

There's now 526 confirmed cases in the Midlands. 

Westmeath has the highest with 258, an increase of 28 from yesterday, Offaly has 150, a rise of 6 while the number of confirmed cases in Laois is up by 17 to 118 in the last 24 hours. 

17.50 - Figures:

A further 38 people are confirmed to have died from Covid19 in the Republic.

657 new cases confirmed today too, along with 411 back from a German lab.

It now brings the death toll to 444 & the number of confirmed cases stands at 12,547.

Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Tony Holohan outlines the details behind the 38 deaths:

The Health Protection Surveillance Centre has today been informed that 38 people diagnosed with COVID-19 in Ireland have died.

·        29 deaths located in the east, 6 in the west, 3 in the south of the country

·        the people included 22 males and 16 females

·        the median age of today’s reported deaths is 84

·        28 people were reported as having underlying health conditions

There have now been 444 COVID-19 related deaths in Ireland.

As of 1pm Wednesday 15th April, the HPSC has been notified of the following cases;

·        An additional 657 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported by Irish laboratories

·        An additional 411 confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported by a laboratory in Germany

With the latest figures from Germany included, there are now a total of 12,547 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, Monday 13th April (11,261 cases), reveals:

·        55% are female and 45% are male, with 413 clusters involving 2,244 cases

·        the median age of confirmed cases is 48 years

·        1,968 cases (18%) have been hospitalised

·        Of those hospitalised, 280 cases have been admitted to ICU

·        2,872 cases are associated with healthcare workers

·        Dublin has the highest number of cases at 5,850 (52% of all cases) followed by Cork with 829 cases (7%)

·        Of those for whom transmission status is known: community transmission accounts for 52%, close contact accounts for 42%, travel abroad accounts for 6%

Dr. Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health, said: “We are continuing to monitor the course of this disease across a range of indicators – not only in the number of confirmed cases and deaths reported but also through hospital and ICU admissions, clusters and patterns of transmission.

“While a number of these parameters are going in a positive direction, it is clear that we need to keep going in our efforts, on an individual level, to limit the spread of this virus.”  

Dr. Ronan Glynn, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health, said; “The World Health Organisation yesterday published its COVID-19 strategy update.

“This strategy re-emphasises the need for comprehensive public health measures to slow the spread of the virus, with additional capacity to respond rapidly to sporadic cases and clusters when they occur.”

16.50 - Global outlook

The number of confirmed Covid-19 cases globally has surpassed 2 million. 

Official tallies show over 128,000 people have lost their lives after contracting the virus.

The consensus among agencies compiling Covid-19 data is that the number of cases worldwide has gone over the 2 million mark since December. 

More than half of these cases have been in Europe, but the US is the worst-hit country globally with close to 610,000 confirmed patients. 

The US death toll stands at over 26,000, just as President Donald Trump decides to halt US funding for the World Health Organization for, in his words, mishandling the pandemic. 

UK fatalities have risen by 761 - with the overall trend continuing to fall.

On Friday the daily figure reached 980. 

England recorded 651 deaths today, while in Scotland another 84 have died, 60 in Wales, and 6 in Northern Ireland.

Meanwhile separate Scottish figures show around a quarter of deaths there involving Covid-19 are in care homes.

Italy's death toll now stands at just over 21,000 while Spain, another EU country with a high number of fatalities has seen it's virus death toll reach 18,500. 

We could all do with a little positivity right now! #COVID19 https://t.co/eJQk88SyVX

— Midlands103 (@Midlands103) April 15, 2020

16.22 - School Transport

Refunds for the school transport scheme are being kept under review. 

Some parents have queried whether they're entitled to money back considering schools are closed. 

The scheme costs 100 euro per year for primary school students, and 350 euro for secondary school students. 

16.00 TD's Pay

Pay cuts for TDs and Senators in light of the coronavirus outbreak are not being ruled out. 

However the Finance Minister's admitted the measure hasn't yet been discussed.  

It's after the Prime Minister of New Zealand and her cabinet took a 20 per cent pay cut for the next six months as an act of solidarity with workers who have been impacted. 

Minister Paschal Donohoe says the matter will be discussed in the coming weeks. 

15.47 - Spitting

A woman who allegedly spat at a Garda in Dublin and claimed she has coronavirus has been remanded on bail. 

34 year old Caroline Farrell of Attracta Road in Cabra appeared at Dublin District Court today in connection with the alleged assault yesterday evening. 

The court heard that the defendant assaulted a guard, engaged in threatening or abusive behaviour, and was intoxicated in a public place, on Attracta Road. 

Ms Farrell was remanded until April 22nd on a number of conditions including that she self isolate at her home. 

15.36 - Northern Ireland

Another 6 people have died from Covid 19 in Northern Ireland.

It brings the death toll in the North to 140.

A further 121 people have tested positive for the virus and the total number of cases there is 2,088.

14.45 - WHO 

Global leaders have criticised Donald Trump for withdrawing funding to the World Health Organisation.

New Zealand's prime minister says we need to be "sharing information at a time like this" - and Germany says the virus "knows no borders."

Tanaiste Simon Coveney says deliberately undermining funding is indefensible and shocking.

The US President is unhappy with how the W-H-O has handled the outbreak.

14.15 - Marriage

The Accord Catholic Marriage Care Service has created a new relationship support phone line to help couples through the covid-19 emergency.

It will be staffed by experienced couples and relationships counsellors. 

Accord says the current circumstances can increase stress and pressure on relationships and in families.

The support line is open Monday to Friday from 9am until 8pm.

Number is 01 531 333

13.30 - Welfare

Ten thousand people who've qualified for the COVID-19 illness benefit payment have not claimed it. 

The 350 euro weekly payment is available to people who have the virus, or who are unable to work because they have to self-isolate. 

However individuals must be medically certified by their GP before submitting an application.

Senior Government Official Elizabeth Canavan says ten thousand people have so far failed to send in the form. 

10.47 - Broadband:

The country's broadband and mobile providers have agreed a series of measures to help people work from home and stay in touch, during the pandemic.

They include the ability of any fixed broadband customers, who don't have unlimited usage as standard, to upgrade their package, with their current service provider. 

For those relying solely on mobile access to the Internet, they'll be able to get affordable unlimited mobile data access or a package.

Companies will also engage with customers in financial difficulty to see the best way of keeping them connected to voice and data.

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   10.33 - UK:

  In the UK, almost 30,000 care providers in England will be contacted over the next few days, offering residents and staff coronavirus tests.

  The British government's promising to screen everyone who needs one - following criticism not enough's been done.

  Social care minister Helen Whately says data about the number of people dying in the sector is hard to collect because it's a more "fragmented" system than the NHS.

  10.21 - Feed Our Hereos:

  A fundraising campaign to feed frontline workers has delivered 55,000 meals, just four weeks after being set up.

  More than 15,000 people have donated to "Feed the Heroes", raising more than 930,000 euro. 

  09.51 - Sinn Fein:

  A Sinn Féin TD is hitting out at some Dáil deputies who are looking for an allowance for working at home during the coronavirus crisis. 

  The Irish Examiner says a small number of TDs are demanding money to buy laptops and other office supplies. 

  But the Houses of the Oireachtas says it's not considering the measure.

  Sinn Féin's Matt Carthy is strongly criticising the TDs' demands:

  09.36 - WHO:

  Donald Trump has ordered a halt to US payments to the World Health Organisation.

  The US president claims the body failed to stop the spread of coronavirus early on because it "willingly took China's assurances at face value".

  DCU professor Anthony Staines says it’s a worrying development which will seriously impact the WHO’s budget:

  09.28 - Testing:

  Almost 3,000 coronavirus tests are now being carried out every day.

  That’s according to a member of the National Public Health Emergency Team, who says he’s confident testing capacity won’t be a barrier to lifting some restrictions next month.

  There are now almost 11,500 coronavirus cases here, while 406 people have died.

  Chairman of the Coronavirus Expert Advisory Group Cillian De Gascun says testing levels are improving:

  09.13 - Dogs:

  The coronavirus pandemic may have been started by stray dogs eating bat meat, according to a study.

  A researcher, from Ottawa University, claims the animals are the most likely intermediate host for the transmission into humans.

  He thinks Covid-19 infected dogs' intestines, and then it evolved and jumped to humans. 

  But some scientists have disputed the findings.

  08.53 - New Zealand:

  Dublin city councillor James Geoghegan says we should be following New Zealand's lead by widening and fixing footpaths, giving more space to people for social distancing.

  Yesterday, the local authority said it would look at a number of areas where road space could be reallocated to walkers and cyclists:

  08.27 - Nursing home testing is "crucial":

  Nursing homes that haven't so far had clusters of Covid-19 are to have residents tested by the HSE. 

  It's part of a co-ordinated nationwide effort to see how prevalent the virus is in community residential settings. 

  187 of the 406 deaths in the Republic of Ireland have occurred in nursing homes. 

  Former Justice Minister Nora Owen, whose husband Brian is in a nursing home, says improved testing is crucial:

  08.10 - ICU discharges:

  77 people with Covid-19 have been discharged from intensive care since the outbreak began, according to the Health Minister.

  Simon Harris has thanked the dedication of health professionals and says the figures should encourage us to stay the course.

  But he says it doesn't mean the restrictions will be lifted on May 5th:

  07.57 - UK hero:

  A 99-year-old man, who's walking 100 lengths of his garden to raise money for Britain's health service, has reached more than 4.8 million euro in donations.

  Army veteran Tom Moore had hoped to make a thousand pounds.

  He's hoping to complete the challenge before he turns a hundred at the end of the month.

  07.49 - Europe:

  Denmark’s starting to ease coronavirus lockdown measures - after becoming one of the first European countries to bring in restrictions.

  Nurseries are reopening and schools will start welcoming some pupils back from today.  

  The Prime Minister Mette (pron: met-tay) Frederiksen says the government’s planning to get society back to normal more quickly than previously thought, as the number of people in hospital continues to fall. 

  Meanwhile, in Italy, the government announced Friday that the current lockdown measures would remain in place until May 3, but some services - including bookshops and children’s clothes shops - will be allowed to reopen.

  Michael McKinney, who is from Bundoran in Donegal and lives in Trieste in Italy, has been in lockdown for six weeks and says he's happy to see an easing of the restrictions: 

  07.38 - Leaving Cert:

  The Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland will now do two weeks of class time with Leaving Cert students - despite previously saying it "cannot be enforced."

  The change has come following consultation with its members, and say the primary concerns now are mainly for students but also health concerns regarding how the exams can be carried out.

  The Leaving Cert will begin in either late July or early August, with the Education Minister saying students should have two weeks back at school to prepare.

  ASTI president Deirdre McDonald says there are some outstanding issues:

  07.21 - German rise:

  Germany's reported a rise in the number of new coronavirus cases - following four days of decline.

  Figures show there's been an increase of around 2-and-a-half-thousand - to just under 128-thousand. 

  The number of deaths has also gone up by 285 - to a total of 3-thousand-254.

  07.12 - Nursing homes:

  The Health Minister is to meet Nursing Homes Ireland again on Friday to discuss the outbreak across the sector.

  He met the body yesterday to see what more can be done to stop the spread of the virus. 

  But Simon Harris says up to 350 nursing homes still haven't seen any cases of Covid-19:

  07.03 - Record cases worldwide:

  The number of cases of coronavirus across the world is expected to reach 2 million later today. 

  The total is now just 200 short of that mark, while there are nearly 127,000 deaths. 

  Nearly a third of all the cases are in the US, which also has the highest number of deaths.

  World Health Organisation director general Tedros Ghebreyesus says the virus is taking a heavy toll on society:

  06.55 - Trump:

  US President Donald Trump is halting funding towards the World Health Organisation while a review is carried out.

  He has blamed the group for promoting "disinformation" about Covid-19 in the first days of the outbreak in Wuhan.

  Almost 2 million people have tested positive for the disease, while over 500,000 cases are in the United States.

  Donald Trump says the WHO needs to be held accountable:

  06.44 - More PPE:

  Millions of euro worth of personal protective equipment is due to arrive in Ireland later this week. 

  The HSE ordered more than 200 million euro worth of the masks, gowns and other gear from China recently. 

  The first batch arrived in Ireland earlier this month, but about 20 per cent of it wasn't suitable. 

  But HSE chief executive Paul Reid says more will arrive in the coming days:

  06.28 - Support for parents:

  Barnardos has launched a new support line for parents to offer advice to help get through the Covid-19 pandemic.

  The charity says with the restrictions in place, the usual support to families is no longer there.

  The phone line will be manned by trained staff at Barnardos to help with children's behaviour and dealing with their worries.

  Claire Deane, from the charity, says there is a demand for support:

  06.11 - Invalid tests:

  A problem with recognising invalid Covid-19 tests - which ended up with around 100 people being told they didn't have the disease, when they did - has now been fixed.

  Dr Cillian De Gascun - who is director of the National Virus Reference Laboratory - explains how the error happened:

  06.00 - Latest figures:

  The HSE is to start testing nursing home residents living where NO Covid-19 clusters have been found. 

  Yesterday saw the country's highest number of deaths in a single day recorded, with a further 41 people losing their lives after being infected with the virus. 

  406 people have now died, while there are 11,479 confirmed Covid-19 cases. 

  187 of the deaths occurred in nursing homes.

  There's now 479 confirmed cases in the Midlands. 

  Westmeath has the highest with 234 up 21 from yesterday, Offaly has 144, which is a rise 11 and Laois has 101, which is a jump of 13. 

  Chief medical officer Tony Holohan says his team is trying to stop the virus getting into nursing homes in the first place: 

  Chief medical officer Tony Holohan says half of all deaths have happened in community settings:

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