77 more people diagnosed with Covid-19 have died in the Republic; the highest number in a single day.
The death toll across the country now stands at 687.
Of the 77 deaths announced today, 67 were in the east of the country, four were in the west, four were in the north-west and two were in the south of the country.
The people included 32 males and 44 females; 1 was not specified.
The median age of today’s reported deaths is 84. 54 people were reported as having underlying health conditions
401 new cases of the virus have been detected here, bringing the total number of positive tests to 15,652.
There's now 113 confirmed cases in Waterford, as of midnight on Saturday. That's an increase of one on Friday's figures.
There is now a total of 15,652 confirmed cases of #Covid19 #Coronavirus in Ireland. For a more detailed breakdown of the latest case information, you can visit the Department of Health’s data dashboard at: https://t.co/RjyC3RrpgD
— Department of Health (@roinnslainte) April 20, 2020
Today’s data from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre, as of midnight, Saturday 18th April (15,185 cases), reveals:
· 56% are female and 44% are male, with 478 clusters involving 3,139 cases
· The median age of confirmed cases is 48 years
· 2,272 cases (15%) have been hospitalised
· Of those hospitalised, 306 cases have been admitted to ICU
· 4,009 cases are associated with healthcare workers
· Dublin has the highest number of cases at 7,666 (51% of all cases) followed by Cork with 1,047 cases (7%)
· Of those for whom transmission status is known: community transmission accounts for 62%, close contact accounts for 34%, travel abroad accounts for 4%
Dr. Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health, said: "Nursing homes and long-term residential facilities are a testing priority.
"In facilities with an existing cluster, all residents and staff are to be tested. In the event of a facility reporting its first case, testing of all staff and residents will take place.
"This sector remains a priority for NPHET, along with other vulnerable persons, and we will continue to implement supports and guidance on infection prevention control where required."
