Coronavirus: Health Department Confirms A Further 39 People Have Died

Latest news updates for 19th April 2020.

Latest figures:

The Health Protection Surveillance Centre has today been informed that 39 people diagnosed with COVID-19 in Ireland have died.

· 37 deaths located in the east, 2 in the west of the country

· The deaths included 19 females and 20 males

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

· 29 people were reported as having underlying health conditions

There have now been 610 COVID-19 related deaths in Ireland. A summary of all 610 deaths provided by the HPSC shows that;

· 346 (57%) of those who died were male, 264 (43%) were female

· The age range is 23 - 105 years

· The median age of those who died is 83

· 337 of these cases were admitted to hospital with 46 admitted to ICU

As of 11.15am Sunday 19 April, the HPSC has been notified of the following cases;

· An additional 445 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported by Irish laboratories

· An additional 48 confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported by a laboratory in Germany

With the latest figures from Germany included, there are now a total of 15,251 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ireland.

The number of confirmed cases in Westmeath has written by 26 to 358.

Another 10 patients have been diagnosed in Offaly bringing the total to 187.

Meanwhile, a further 21 people have contracted the illness in Laois. There are now 168 cases in the O'Moore county. 

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, Friday, 17 April (14,602 cases) reveals:

· The median age of confirmed cases is 48 years

· 2,223 cases (15%) have been hospitalised

· Of those hospitalised, 303 cases have been admitted to ICU

· 3,788 cases are associated with healthcare workers

· Dublin has the highest number of cases at 7,379 (51% of all cases) followed by Cork with 1,028 cases (7%)

· Of those for whom transmission status is known: community transmission accounts for 63%, close contact accounts for 32%, travel abroad accounts for 5%

Schools:

The Teachers Union of Ireland has told its members there's no guarantee the rescheduled Leaving Cert can take place.

In a document released to secondary teachers it says public health advice will dictate whether the state exams can be held in late-July of early August.

It says the tests taking place relies on a decision made in June, when the State Exams Commission is due to release a proposed timetable.

The TUI also believes any re-opening of schools will have to be carefully managed.

The Health Minister says students could be brought back for one day a week if the Covid 19 restrictions are eased.

TUI General Secretary John McGabhann says there would have to be a number of considerations before that can happen:

Personal Protective Equipment:

The HSE say regions in China are checking Personal Protective Equipment to ensure it meets healthcare standards.

In the first batch of PPE that came into the country for frontline staff around four million euro worth was not suitable in Irish hospitals.

130 million euro of the equipment is due to arrive in Ireland in the next couple of weeks - in the meantime staff are being told to be "prudent" with supplies.

HSE boss Paul Reid says they are being careful that PPE coming in is fit for purpose:

Sport:

The latest comments from the minister for health Simon Harris regarding mass gatherings spell bad news for Irish sport in 2020.

All sporting action under the jurisdiction of the GAA, FAI and IRFU remains suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The GAA is hopeful of playing the senior football and hurling championships later this summer while the FAI have targetted June as for a resumption of the men's and women's domestic leagues.

However in an interview with the Sunday Independent - minister Harris said, "It's highly unlikely we're going to be seeing very large kinds of mass gatherings this year."

The Teachers Union of Ireland:

The Teachers Union of Ireland has told its members there's no guarantee the rescheduled Leaving Cert can take place.

In a document released to secondary teachers it says public health advice will dictate whether the state exams can be held in late-July of early August.

It says the tests taking place relies on a decision made in June, when the State Exams Commission is due to release a proposed timetable.

UK:

Another 596 people have died after testing positive for coronavirus in UK hospitals.

It takes the total to more than 16-thousand.

One more death's been recorded in Northern Ireland along with 10 deaths in Scotland and 41 in Wales.

England has reported it's lowest daily rise for nearly two weeks - 482 people have died.

Showbiz:

One World: Together at Home raised over 116 million euro to support healthcare workers in the fight against Covid-19.

The event, which was organised by Global Citizen, part of the W-H-O, had performances from the Rolling Stones, Lady Gaga and Billie Eilish.

The money raised from the eight-hour stream will go towards funding the World Health Organisation's work as well as vaccine development.

An edited programme will air on TV tonight at 7pm.

Schools:

The Health Minister says he hopes schools can partially re-open after the current restrictions are lifted.

Simon Harris says the option of students attending class for one day a week is being looked at.

General Secretary of the Teachers Union of Ireland, John McGabhann, says there will be challenges when schools come back.

UK:

596 more Covid-19 patients have died in hospitals up to five o'clock yesterday -- bringing the total UK death toll to 16,060. 

One more death and 159 new positive tests have been reported in Northern Ireland.

Meanwhile, a UK government minister denies reports that authorities are considering a reduction of coronavirus restrictions.

Restrictions:

The Health Minister says there's been a drop in the number of people admitted to hospital from Covid 19.

The number of people in hospitals has fallen to only 16 per cent of cases, while 2.3 per cent are in Intensive Care Units.

New figures show another 41 people have died from the coronavirus in the Republic, bringing the death toll to 571.

630 new confirmed cases of the disease have been confirmed here, with another 148 cases from a German lab.

Minister Simon Harris says the number of new cases needs to be reduced before the Government can ease the restrictions:

Nursing homes:

Nursing Homes Ireland's slamming what it's calling a rationing of personal protective equipment in nursing homes.

It's concerned a recent memorandum issued by the HSE outlined the potential rationing of further PPE.

Chief Executive of Nursing Homes Ireland, Tadhg Daly says it's vital nursing homes get this equipment: