Coronavirus: 3,569 New Cases: 63 Deaths Reported In Ireland Today

National news updates on Wednesday 13th January.

Latest Figures:

The Health Protection Surveillance Centre has today been notified of 63 additional deaths related to COVID-19.

5 of these deaths occurred in November 2020, 1 of these deaths occurred in December 2020, and the remaining 56 occurred in January 2021. The date of death for one reported death remains under investigation.

There has been a total of 2,460 COVID-19 related deaths in Ireland.

As of midnight, Tuesday 12th January, the HPSC has been notified of 3,569 confirmed cases of COVID-19. There is now a total of 159,144* confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ireland.

Of the cases notified today:

• 1,616 are men / 1,924 are women

• 54% are under 45 years of age

• The median age is 42 years old

• 1,119 are in Dublin, 416 in Cork, 200 in Galway, 182 in Louth, 169 in Waterford, and the remaining 1,483 cases are spread across all other counties.

As of 2pm today, 1,770 COVID-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 172 are in ICU. 133 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours.

Dr Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health said: “We are seeing some early signs of progress with daily cases numbers and positivity rates. We can take some hope in them, but we have a long, long way to go. In the coming weeks ahead, we will need to draw upon our reserves of resilience from springtime as we can expect to see hospitalisations, admissions to ICU and mortality related to COVID-19 increase day on day.”

“The best way that we can all support one another now is to stay apart. Sadly, what we are seeing now is a result of the very high daily confirmed case numbers we experienced for successive weeks. To ensure our hospitals and loved ones remain protected, and stay alive to receive the vaccine, please continue to follow public health advice and stay home.”

“At this challenging time, it is important to remind those that need acute care that hospitals are there for those that need them. No one should ignore any worrying signs they may need medical attention, such as lumps, chest pain or other new symptoms. Phone your GP if you have any concerns, not just those related to COVID-19.”

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

 The 7 day incidence is 799.1 

The 5-day moving average is 4,659

Healthcare close contacts:

Healthcare workers, who are deemed close contacts of someone with Covid 19, are being asked to return to work if they have no symptoms.  

It comes as the number of patients in hospital with the virus hits another record high.

1,750 patients are being treated in hospital with Covid 19 and 158 are in ICU.

The head of the HSE says this is a level beyond comprehension but Paul Reid says healthcare teams are taking emergency actions to sustain this within a level of control.

It’s now emerged healthcare workers who are deemed close contacts of someone with Covid 19 are being asked to return to work if they have no symptoms.  

7,000 are currently unavailable as they have covid or are deemed close contacts which is putting a huge strain on the health system.

The HSE says these returning workers will be closely monitored 
 

Anxiety:

Almost half of intensive care staff in the UK working during the Covid-19 pandemic are suffering from problem drinking, severe anxiety, PTSD or severe depression.  

That's according to a new study from King's College London.

The research found it's more pronounced among nurses than doctors or health workers on wards.

Drop in presentations to GPs:

The number of people going to GPs with Covid-19 symptoms has dropped by 40 per cent since Monday of last week. 

GP Buddy, which tracks data to surgeries across the country, shows there was a ten-fold increase between December 14th and January 4th. 

But it's dropped since then and is now six times higher than mid-December. 

Dr. Shane McKeogh, from GP Buddy, says there's a ray of hope emerging:

Vaccination roll-out:

Plans to vaccinate the majority of people by the end of the summer is an "almost insurmountable task", according to an immunologist.

It follows the suggestion by the head of the National Immunisation Advisory Committee that we could see the bulk of the population given a vaccine against Covid-19 in that timeframe.

875,000 doses of a vaccine have been ordered for Ireland, while 3,600 of the new Moderna vaccine arrived into the country yesterday.

Immunologist, Dr. Lara Dungan, says a summer target isn't realistic:

Travel requirements:

The government's new testing requirement for all international arrivals won't prevent more Covid cases being imported, according to Sinn Fein.

Last night it was announced that from Saturday, all travellers to Ireland will have to produce a negative PCR test that's less than 72 hours old when they arrive.

The measure is currently in place for people coming in from Britain and South Africa.

Sinn Féin's transport spokesperson, Darren O'Rourke, says stricter checks are needed:

Deaths:

The Chief Medical Officer is warning the high number of daily deaths linked to Covid-19 is likely to continue.

46 were reported yesterday, the highest number on a single day since April, while 44 of those passed away this month.

3,086 cases were reported, which is the lowest number since New Year's Day, 101 of which were in the midlands.

Last night, 1,690 people with Covid-19 were being treated in hospitals, which included a record number of patients in ICU at 160.

Professor Cliona Ní Cheallaigh, a consultant in infectious diseases in St James's Hospital in Dublin, says the death toll will continue to rise.