Coronavirus: 18 Deaths; 269 New Cases Reported In Ireland Today

National news updates on Tuesday 1st December.

Latest Figures:

Statement from the National Public Health Emergency Team

The Health Protection Surveillance Centre has today been notified of 18 additional deaths related to COVID-19. Of the deaths reported today, 1 death occurred in October, 15 deaths in November and 2 are under investigation.

There has been a total of 2,069* COVID-19 related deaths in Ireland.

As of midnight Monday 30th November, the HPSC has been notified of 269 confirmed cases of COVID-19. There is now a total of 72,798** confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ireland.

Of the cases notified today;

133 are men / 133 are women

65% are under 45 years of age

The median age is 35 years old

73 in Dublin, 20 in Kilkenny, 20 in Limerick, 19 in Louth, 19 in Tipperary and the remaining 118 cases are spread across 20 other counties.

As of 2pm today, 224 COVID-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 31 are in ICU. 14 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours.

Dr. Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health, said: “The hard work and sacrifices that have been made by people over the last 6 weeks to suppress COVID-19 means that we are now in a position to reopen non-essential retail and to travel within our counties.

“It is up to every person, individually, to remain vigilant to the spread of this disease, to assess the risk that is involved in any social activity. We need to keep the public health advice at the centre of our minds and do not have visitors to our homes, outside of any necessary visitors in a support bubble, until the 18th of December.

“Each one of us has a role in shaping the national picture on COVID-19 in the coming weeks. It is vital that you keep hand washing, wear face coverings and keep a 2m distance from each other, to protect public health, to protect vital public services and to give us the best chance to continue to minimise the spread of the disease.”

The COVID-19 Dashboard provides up-to-date information on the key indicators of COVID-19 in the community.

*Validation of data has resulted in the denotification of 2 deaths. The figure of 2,069 deaths reflect this.

**Validation of data at the HPSC has resulted in the denotification of 15 confirmed cases. The figure of 72,798 confirmed cases reflects this.

Today’s cases, 14-day incidence rate per 100,000 population and new cases in last 14 days (as of midnight 30 November 2020) (incidence rate based on Census 2016 county population)

Today's cases (to midnight 30NOV2020) 14-Day incidence rate per 100,000 population (17NOV to 30NOV2020)

Laois:

Number of new cases today: <5

14 day incidence rate: 55.5

New cases in the last 14 days: 47

Offaly 

Number of new cases today: <5

14 day incidence rate: 47.5

New cases in the last 14 days: 37

Westmeath

Number of new cases today: <5

14 day incidence rate: 29.3

New cases in the last 14 days: 26

Ireland’s current 7-Day incidence rate per 100,000 population is 39.9.

Vaccine:

The cabinet has agreed to enter an advanced purchase order for 875,000 doses of the Moderna COVID vaccine. 

The EU is expecting to buy around 80 million doses of which Ireland will get a little more than 1 per cent. 

It means there are now purchase orders between Ireland and five of the vaccines under development.

That would give the country access to more than 10 million doses of vaccine - though some will be a double dose. 

But infectious diseases professor Jack Lambert says it could a year before a vaccine is fully rolled out:

Attitudes:

46 per cent of people expect to spend less this Christmas than last year. 

New CSO figures show the public's concerns in the run up to the festive period.

Most people will spend the same or less than last year, with just 9 per cent of respondents expecting to spend more than Christmas 2019.

Just under 12% of people are worried about being unable to afford Christmas presents. People living in rented accommodation are almost three times more likely to worry about the ability to buy gifts than those living in owner-occupied homes.

The survey, which was taken before the Taoiseach's announcement on Friday, found that men are worried about pubs and restaurants being closed whereas women are more likely to be concerned about not seeing family and friends over the holidays.

The figures also highlight a shift in attitude among different age groups. A quarter of 18-34 year olds were worried about closed pubs and restaurants while just one in 9 people over the age of 70 had the same concerns. 

Similarly, 35% of over 70s were worried about the churches staying open while that figure for the 18-35 year old age group was just 14%. 

Deaths:

Less than 3 per cent of people who've died with Covid-19 did not have an underlying health condition. 

The HPSC says over 93 per cent of people did, and it's unknown for the other 4 per cent. 

More than a quarter of people who've been diagnosed with the virus had an underlying health condition. 

44 per cent had chronic heart disease and 17 per cent had cancer. 

Level 5 ENDS:

Shops, gyms, hairdressers and places of worship will re-open this morning as level 5 coronavirus restrictions are lifted across the country.

People are still being advised to work from home if they can and not to mix with other households.

From today, there's also a recommendation to wear a face mask outdoors on busy streets.

Restaurants and pubs serving food will have to wait until Friday to welcome customers back.

Chief Medical Officer Dr. Tony Holohan says people should avoid busy areas where there's a risk of Covid-19 spreading:

These people were waiting outside a shopping centre this morning: