No new deaths notified as Clare records 16 new cases of Covid-19

THERE have been 16 new cases of Covid-19 notified in Clare, while there have been no new deaths reported to the Health Protection Surveillance Centre today. There has been a total of 3,948 Covid-19 related deaths in Ireland.

As of midnight, Sunday, February 14, the HPSC has been notified of 821 confirmed cases of Covid-19. There is now a total of 210,402* confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Ireland.

Of the cases notified today:

• 430 are male/ 389 are Female
• 70% are under 45 years of age
• The median age is 31 years old
• 333 in Dublin, 91 in Galway, 53 in Limerick, 41 in Kildare, 38 in Meath and the remaining 265 cases are spread across all other counties.

As of 8am today, 916 Covid-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 157 are in ICU. 40 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours.

As of Friday, February 12, 265,237 doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been administered in Ireland:

• 175,238 people have received their first dose
• 89,999 people have received their second dose

Dr Ronan Glynn, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health, said, “With the commencement of vaccination of people aged over 85 in the community, today marks a significant milestone as we seek to protect the most vulnerable from this pandemic. It is an extraordinary testament to science that less than one year since our first case in Ireland, we are now in the process of rolling out three effective vaccines. The challenge now is to continue to suppress this disease so that as many people as possible can benefit from these vaccines over the coming months.”

Professor Philip Nolan, Chair of the NPHET Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group, said, “The current patterns remind us of the care we need to take to stay safe. In our workplaces and our colleges especially, we need to take care to stay safe until we are all protected by a vaccine.”

Dr Lorraine Doherty, National Clinical Director Health Protection HSE – Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC), said, “From today, the over 85 age sub-cohort, which accounts for approximately 72,500 people, will receive their first vaccine over the coming weeks. This week, a total of 116 GP practices will participate in the rollout with an estimated 374 GP’s taking part.

“2,491 GP’s spread across 1,373 practices will administer vaccines to approximately 490,000 people over 70 years old, in the weeks ahead.”

Dr Sumi Dunne, General Practitioner, said, “As of this morning, the beginning of the over 85’s cohort began to receive their vaccines at selected GP practices. The level of vaccine confidence and enthusiasm for vaccination in this group has been widely reported, along with a sense of relief as hope for a normal life returns.”