Coronavirus: Department Of Health Confirms 92 Cases

National news updates on Tuesday 25th August.

​​​​​​Figures:

There has been a total of 1,777 COVID-19 related deaths in Ireland.

As of midnight Monday 24th August, the HPSC has been notified of 92 confirmed cases of COVID-19. There is now a total of 28,201* confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ireland.

Of the cases notified today;

52 are men / 38 are women

69% are under 45 years of age

46 are confirmed to be associated with outbreaks or are close contacts of a confirmed case

11 cases have been identified as community transmission

31 in Tipperary, 17 in Dublin, 7 in Clare, 7 in Wexford, 5 in Kildare and the remaining 25 cases are in Carlow, Cavan, Cork, Donegal, Galway, Kerry, Kilkenny, Limerick, Louth, Meath, Monaghan and Wicklow.

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; “While the number of cases reported each day remains high, the situation nationally has remained relatively stable over the past week. However, we have seen cases in 25 of the 26 counties over the past 14 days, including 473 cases in Dublin, 332 in Kildare, 120 in Tipperary, 84 in Limerick, 37 in Clare and 36 in Meath and Kilkenny.

“Measures introduced last week would not be expected to impact on the trajectory of the disease until early next week. In the meantime, we must continue to follow public health advice – reduce social contacts and avoid crowds, physically distance, wear face coverings and wash hands regularly.”

377 people in Laois have tested positive for the virus, Offaly has had a total of 619 cases confirmed, meanwhile in Westmeath it remains at 684 patients have had the illness. These figures are from the Department of Health and are measured at midnight on Sunday 23rd August.

Northern Ireland:

47 new covid cases have been confirmed in the North.  

It brings the total number of coronavirus cases there to 6823.  

The figures also reveal no new deaths, the number of fatalities remains at 559. 

Deposit:

Businesses who have not returned deposits for events cancelled due to covid-19 should be pursued in the small claims court, according to the Consumers Association.

It comes as a new survey shows 8 in 10 people had to cancel or postpone plans for major life purchases or events in recent months

47 per cent of people surveyed by N26 said they have lost close to 700 euro as a result.

Michael Kilcoyne, Chairman of the Consumers Association of Ireland, says people should not be left out of pocket due to the covid restrictions:

Money:

Half of Irish consumers have lost money due to cancellations because of Covid-19.

The average loss is almost 700 euro, just behind consumers in Belgium and the Netherlands. 

A global study by N26 bank finds 80 per cent of people surveyed were forced to cancel or postpone major purchases or life events, like weddings, because of the pandemic. 

Irish people have saved an average of 1896 euro for plans which ended up being cancelled, while they lost an average of €694 as a result of the changes. 

Builders:

Almost half of schools had difficulty getting builders to carry out works to ensure they're ready to reopen, according to a suvey of secondary school principles.

The study, carried out earlier this month, also found that seven in ten have concerns their students wouldn't be able to use remote learning if a Covid-19 outbreak forced their school to close.

President of the Teachers Union of Ireland, Martin Marjoram, hopes there isn't big problems ahead for schools:

Dublin:

No new restrictions for people in Dublin are needed currently, despite rising Covid-19 cases in the capital. 

That's according to the National Public Health Emergency Team, which says it's monitoring the situation in Dublin "closely". 

Of the 147 newly-confirmed cases, 73 are in Dublin, while one in three cases in the capital are linked to community transmission, which is higher than in the rest of the country.

Chief medical officer Dr Ronan Glynn says a number of factors must be considered before a lockdown in Dublin would be declared: 

Golfgate:

A Supreme Court judge attending the Oireachtas golf society event's being investigated.

The court has asked Ms Justice Susan Denham to look into Seamus Woulfe being at the Galway dinner at the centre of the Golfgate controversy.

She'll look at whether the former Attorney General should've gone, and if he should've stayed when he saw the numbers there.

Sinn Fein's Justice Spokesperson, Martin Kenny, says the days of politicians and judges mingling should be gone:

An Independent TD says the presence of lobbyists at the Oireachtas golf event dinner's highly concerning.

Mattie McGrath also says answers are needed about who sponsored it:

Two MEPs say the government's credibility has been so badly damanged by the refusal of Phil Hogan to stand aside, that a general election is needed.

The European Trade Commissioner's sending 'additional information' to Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen after she asked for further clarity on his part in the GolfGate scandal. 

Dublin MEP Clare Daly says the row's a "handy diversion" for the government, and a vote should be immediately - a call backed her byIndependents 4 Change colleague Mick Wallace. 

But Social Democrats co-leader Róisín Shortall says a general election now would be "dangerous":

Retailers:

A business group's warning about an "orchestrated" campaign of legal threats against shopkeepers who're refusing service to people for not wearing a face covering. 

ISME says its members have been getting letters based on a templates circulated by anti-mask activists on Facebook. 

It threatens a complaint to the Workplace Relations Commission alleging discrimination. 

Chief executive Neil McDonnell's calling on the state to step in and protect retailers: 

Schools:

A school in Carlow is one of the first to welcome students back this morning after more than five months of closure.

First year students at St Leo's College will begin secondary school at 9am.

Many schools are opening this week with the remainder starting back next week.

Meanwhile, there's a warning that hundreds of teachers with serious illness who're being forced back to work are facing "life or death".

The ASTI has written to the Health Minister for clarifications on high-risk teachers working from home after receiving a surge in queries from worried members.

President, Ann Piggott, says there are teachers with health issues who can't be expected to be in a classroom:

New guidance has been issued for parents who're unsure about their children returning to schools with colds.

The advice says a child can go to school with a runny nose but is "otherwise well".

Dr Mary Favier from the Irish College of General Practitioners outlines when a child shouldn't go to school:

Health officials are looking at alternative ways of testing children for Covid-19.

A nasal swab's currently used however they're looking at less invasive methods.

It comes as new guidance has been issued for parents on whether their kids should go to school if they're sick.

Director of the National Virus Reference Laboratory, Dr Cillian De Gascun hopes there'll be progress on the new form of testing in a few weeks:

Community transmission:

Reducing community transmission should be the focus for schools reopening, according to the World Health Organisation.

It says particular care needs to be taken with teenagers going back to the classroom as they can spread the disease and have more severe symptoms than younger children.

Dr Maria van Kerkhove says the guidance is there, but community transmission will mean Covid-19 gets into the schools:

Local figures:

147 cases have been confirmed by the Department of Health today. 

It brings the total number of positive tests to 28,116.

No new deaths have been reported, so the death toll from Covid 19 remains at 1,777. 

73 in Dublin, 17 in Kildare, 12 in Offaly, 11 in Wicklow, 9 in Limerick and the remaining 25 cases are in Carlow, Clare, Cork, Donegal, Galway, Laois, Louth, Meath, Monaghan, Tipperary and Wexford.

373 people in Laois have tested positive for the virus, with Offaly recording 607 cases and Westmeath's total stands at 684. These figures are provided by the Department of Health and were measured at midnight on Saturday 22 August.

An Infectious Disease Specialist feels we need to speed up our covid-19 testing capabilities.

Professor Sam McConkey of the Royal College of Surgeons says more localised contact tracing may also be required: