James Cox
47 further Covid-19 related deaths and 1,466 additional cases have been confirmed in the Republic of Ireland today.
46 deaths occurred in January.
The median age of those who died is 85 years and the age range is 55-99.
There has been a total of 3,167 Covid-19 related deaths in Ireland.
As of midnight, Wednesday, January 27th, the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) has been notified of 1,466 confirmed cases of Covid-19. There is now a total of 192,645 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Ireland.
77 new cases have been confirmed in Waterford. The 14-day incidence locally is now 866.8 and the 5-day moving average is 51.
Of the cases notified today:
- 697 are men/764 are women.
- 55 per cent are under 45 years of age.
- The median age is 41 years old.
- 472 in Dublin, 106 in Galway, 103 in Cork, 77 in Waterford, 70 in Limerick and the remaining 638 cases are spread across all other counties.
As of 2pm today, 1,567 Cpovid-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 216 are in ICU. 69 additional Covid-19 cases have been reported in Irish hospitals in the last 24 hours.
Chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan said: “Incidence is falling but remains high. It is positive to see numbers of people hospitalised reducing and a stabilisation of numbers in ICU.
“However, we are continuing to experience high mortality with 878 deaths so far in January. I am concerned about the high incidence we are seeing in long-term care settings and vulnerable groups. Our efforts to stay home and break transmission of the disease will save lives. Please continue to follow the public health advice and support each other to keep going.”
Professor Philip Nolan, chair of the National Public Health Emergency Teams (Nphet) Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group, said: “Incidence is falling and by working collectively to reduce contacts, we have achieved suppression of transmission with the R number estimated at 0.4-0.7. We are maintaining an extraordinary effort but still we have a long way to go. We must maintain full suppression for several weeks if we are to achieve strategic options for the future. If we keep this up, we would be down to 200-400 cases per day by the end of February.”
Dr Lorraine Doherty, National Clinical Director Health Protection HSE — Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC), said: “It only takes one event to spark a chain of transmission of Covid-19 that can spread through a community. We have seen examples of outbreaks in a workplace that has led to multiple outbreaks in families and other work settings, and these ultimately lead to a higher incidence in the community and threatens the most vulnerable to Covid-19. Every action an individual takes matters.”
Meanwhile, Ireland’s Covid-19 vaccination programme is likely to miss its target of inoculating 700,000 people by the end of March, the Dáil has heard.
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said the “indicative target” was heavily caveated and dependent on vaccine supplies from AstraZeneca.
Mr Donnelly said it is “very frustrating” that AstraZeneca may not be delivering the full amount anticipated by Government.
