The number of patients in Clare who have tested positive for coronavirus has risen to 54, up four in the past 24 hours, according to figures released by the Health Protection Surveillance Centre this afternoon.
Seventeen patients diagnosed with Covid-19 have also died in that time frame bringing the total number of deaths in the country to 137. Of the 17 new deaths, 15 were located in the east, one in the south and one in the west. The patients included four females and 13 males and 13 were reported as having underlying health conditions.
There have now been 137 Covid-19 related deaths in Ireland and the median age of the deceased is 81.
There were also 331 new confirmed cases in the country and there are now 4,604 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Ireland.
Dr. Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health, said; “This week, the National Public Health Emergency Team made a range of recommendations to support the response in nursing homes and long-term residential facilities to Covid-19. This remains a priority for our focused attention and we will continue to monitor the rate of infection within these environments and support the sector through this outbreak.
“The nationwide, collective effort to limit the spread of Covid-19 has been inspiring. We must keep up this effort, continue to protect the vulnerable in our society and ultimately flatten the curve.”
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.