Five hundred additional cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed which represents the largest number of confirmed cases in a single day since the outbreak began. The total number of people with Coronavirus now stands at 6,574.
The number of positive cases also increased in Clare, up by two to a total of 68.
A further 28 people have died from the virus in the country, there have been a total of 263 casualties in the Republic from COVID-19 and a combined 345 on the island of Ireland.
Of the 263 deaths, 72% (187 cases) died in a hospital environment. Thirty people died in intensive care units, accounting for 11% of cases and of the deaths 22 were in the east and two in the north west, sought and west. The median age of today’s reported deaths is 84 and 19 people were reported as having underlying health conditions.
On a positive note, the number of individuals contracting the virus by confirmed cases has dropped. Professor Phillip Nolan confirmed added that the reproductive value has dropped from four from every one case to an average of one per case.
“This is not a simple question of flattening the curve and simply pushing the peak out to the future, it is about suppressing it completely, he said.
Social distancing measures are to remain in place “for quite some time”, he confirmed. . “We can’t get this wrong so we have to be very careful before we make a decision,” he added.
Chief Medical Officer, Dr Tony Holohan reiterated that the primary reason for all measures in place is to protect people. “There is still significant unknowns about this virus,” he commented and revealed it is unclear what impact the possible lifting of some measures would have. “I would like to describe our strategy as a responsive one,” he added.
A native of Ennis, Colin McGann has been editor of The Clare Champion since August 2020. Former editor of The Clare People, he is a journalism and communications graduate of Dublin Institute of Technology.