The Clare Champion Clare news, sport, entertainment and local notes
Forty one more people diagnosed with Covid-19 have died, bringing the total number of deaths from the virus to 406.
Of the latest deaths, 36 were located in the east, four in the west and one in the south of the country The people included 16 females and 25 males and 31 were reported as having underlying health conditions. The median age of today’s reported deaths is 85.
The number of Covid-19 positive cases in Clare increased yet again and an additional eight cases now brings the total confirmed cases in the county to 106.
The Health Protection Surveillance Centre reported that as of 1pm today, an additional 548 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 were reported by Irish laboratories and an additional 284 confirmed cases reported by a laboratory in Germany.
With the latest figures from Germany included, there are now a total of 11,479 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Ireland.
The HSE is working to identify any contacts the patients may have had to provide them with information and advice to prevent further spread.
As of midnight on Monday, Ap[ril 13, 90,646 tests have been carried out. Of these tests 62,952 have been completed in Irish laboratories and 27,694 in Germany. Over the past week, 20,468 tests were carried out in Irish laboratories and of these 4,233 were positive, giving a positivity rate of 21%.
Dr. Cillian De Gascun, Chair of NPHET’s Expert Advisory Group said; “Having come through a challenging few weeks, we have significantly strengthened testing capacity and will continue to do so over the coming week, to put us in a very strong position to identify and suppress the virus.”
Today’s data from the HPSC, reveals that of the 10,385 cases:
*54% are female and 45% are male, with 408 clusters involving 1,999 cases
*the median age of confirmed cases is 48 years
*1,903 cases (18%) have been hospitalised
* of those hospitalised, 275 cases have been admitted to ICU
* 2,707 cases are associated with healthcare workers
* Dublin has the highest number of cases at 5,438 (52% of all cases) followed by Cork with 780 cases (8%)
The National Public Health Emergency Team met today to continue its ongoing review of Ireland’s response to COVID-19. Discussed at today’s meeting were:
* Residential care settings: In addition to existing protective measures and financial supports, HSE will put in place a coordinated national process to identify the prevalence of COVID-19 across nursing homes and other residential healthcare settings; as recommended by the ECDC.
*Testing; HPSC to develop a strategy to conduct a seroprevalence study which will identify the proportion of the population who have ever had COVID-19, regardless of testing.
Dr. Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health, said: “We remain concerned about the prevalence of COVID-19 in nursing homes and residential care settings.
“The National Public Health Emergency Team is monitoring developments in these facilities and continues to advance supports and actions where needed.
“From the beginning, we have been aware that vulnerable groups, including the elderly, are at greater risk from this virus. These groups will continue to be our priority.”
Dr. Colm Henry, Chief Clinical Officer, HSE, said; “We are not seeing a significant increase in the number of COVID-19 positive cases in our hospitals or our ICU’s over the last number of days, and that is down to the efforts of every individual who has followed advice to stay apart and slow the spread of the virus. To everyone playing their part, the health service is grateful.”
