Latest news updates for Sunday 20th September 2020.
Latest figures:
There have been no new deaths reported to the Health Protection Surveillance Centre today.
There has now been a total of 1,792 COVID-19 related deaths in Ireland.
As of midnight Saturday, 19 September, the HPSC has been notified of 396 confirmed cases of COVID-19. There is now a total of 32,933* confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ireland.
Of the cases notified today;
· 172 are men / 224 are women
· 70% are under 45 years of age
· 26% are confirmed to be associated with outbreaks or are close contacts of a confirmed case
· 58 cases have been identified as community transmission
· 241 cases are in Dublin, 36 in Cork, 19 in Donegal, 12 in Galway, 11 in Meath, 11 in Kildare, 9 in Monaghan, 7 in Louth, 6 in Clare, 6 in Offaly, 6 in Waterford and 5 in Wicklow, with the remaining 27 cases spread across 11 counties
The HSE is working to identify any contacts the patients may have had to provide them with information and advice to prevent further spread.
The COVID-19 Dashboard provides up-to-date information on the key indicators of COVID-19 in the community.
Dr. Ronan Glynn, Acting Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health, said: “The cases we are reporting today were seeded in the last week.
“This virus spreads from person to person. We now have a collective task across the country to break the chains of transmission and stop this virus from spreading further.
“Plan to see half the number of people this week that you saw last week. When you do meet, do so safely – keep your distance, wear a face covering if appropriate and wash your hands.
Schools:
The ASTI is to ballot on industrial action over health and safety issues that have arisen since secondary schools reopened.
Failure to properly social distance; a lack of adequate PPE; and the requirement for high risk teachers to go into class are among a raft of issues raised at a meeting of the union's central executive yesterday.
The secondary teachers' union says there's also been a lack of information --- in particular surrounding close contacts of confirmed cases.
It comes after 274 new cases of the virus were reported yesterday and no new deaths.
General secretary of the union Ciaran Christie said more resources are needed:
France:
The number of coronavirus cases in France has hit a new daily record.
Nearly 13-and-a-half thousand infections were reported today.
That's more than any other 24-hour period since the pandemic began.
Incident rate:
Ireland's Covid-19 14-day incidence rate has more than doubled in the past two weeks.
The latest Health Protection Surveillance Report has been released.
These statistics looks at the cases reported until midnight on Thursday, and shows three counties with an incidence rate of more than 80 - in Waterford, Louth and Dublin.
In the capital, the figures are concerning public health officials with the county now on over 120 cases over two weeks per 100,000 people.
Five more counties have incidence of more than 60 with the numbers rising in Wicklow, Donegal, Kildare and Offaly, while there's been a slight drop in Leitrim which is on 78.
Local figures:
There have been 274 new cases of Covid 19 recorded in the Republic in the last 24 hours and NO further deaths.
166 of the cases recorded today were in Dublin, 21 in Cork, 19 in Donegal, 7 in Kildare, 7 in Offaly, 6 in Waterford, 6 in Wicklow, 5 in Louth, 5 in Limerick and 5 in Meath and the remaining 27 cases are located across 12 counties.
It brings the death toll linked to the virus since the outbreak began to 1,792.
65% of infections were in people under 45 ; 52% are associated with outbreaks or are close contacts of a confirmed case, while 52 cases have been identified as community transmission.
The Acting Chief Medical Officer Dr Ronan Glynn explains what will be needed to get through the winter period:
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