Coronavirus: 49 More Deaths Recorded

The latest national updates on Wednesday 22nd April.

Latest figures:

The Health Protection Surveillance Centre has today been informed that 49 people diagnosed with COVID-19 in Ireland have died.

There have now been 769* laboratory confirmed COVID-19 related deaths in Ireland.

As of 1pm Tuesday 21st April, the HPSC has been notified of 631 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. There is now a total of 16,671 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.

Today’s data from the HPSC, as of midnight, Monday 20th April (15,871 cases), reveals:

·        56% are female and 44% are male

·        the median age of confirmed cases is 48 years

·        2,387 cases (15%) have been hospitalised

·        Of those hospitalised, 322 cases have been admitted to ICU

·        4,393 cases are associated with healthcare workers

·        Dublin has the highest number of cases at 7,905 (50% of all cases) followed by Cork with 1,077 cases (7%)

·        Of those for whom transmission status is known: community transmission accounts for 61%, close contact accounts for 35%, travel abroad accounts for 4%

As of midnight Tuesday 21^st April, the HPSC has been informed of 302 clusters in residential care settings, 179 of which are in nursing homes. Of the 769 deaths in laboratory confirmed cases, 412 are associated with residents of residential care settings, of which 348 are associated with nursing home settings.

Chief Medical Officer, Dr Tony Holohan has more details on people who have been treated in ICU:

Global figures:

Europe and the US now account for more than 80 per cent of confirmed Covid-19 infections globally.

Over 177,000 people with the virus have died worldwide.

Close to 2.6 million Covid-19 infections have been recorded worldwide, with nearly 178,000 fatalities.

Europe has reported over 110,000 fatalities, but the US has more deaths than any other country, with over 45,000 people losing their lives.

President Trump is signing an order today to partially block immigration.

Italy has been second worst-affected with over 24,000 deaths, followed by Spain with over 21,000 deaths and France with 20,000 fatalities.

Britain is next.

Latest figures show 18,100 people have died with coronavirus in UK hospitals, up 763 on yesterday.

In Scotland, fatalities have passed the 1-thousand mark after 77 more patient deaths were reported, while another 15 have been confirmed in Wales.

Another 665 fatalities have been reported in England.

Second wave:

The Government is wary of a second wave of the coronavirus hitting Ireland.

It's monitoring countries that are experiencing an increase in cases after deciding to ease restrictions.

Plans for an exit strategy will be published before May 5th, the day the current restrictions are set to expire.

As things stand, it's unlikely there will be any major easing of restrictions announced on the day.

Senior Government Official Elizabeth Canavan says it's aware people are anxious to know when things may return to normal:

Schools:

The Department of Education is creating a €10 million euro fund to help schools buy IT equipment to help students learn at home during the covid-19 crisis.

7 million euro will be provided to secondary schools, while €3 million euro will be allocated to the primary sector.

The funds will be used to purchase devices such as laptops, which will be loaned out to students who don't have access to the technology at home.

Schools are being asked to prioritise exam classes, and then to look at where else access to technology is most needed.

Evictions:

There are calls for the ban on rent increases and evictions to be immediately extended.

Threshold says the moratorium introduced by the government is due to expire on the 27th of June.

However, it says rents increased throughout the country before the pandemic began.

It also believes people living in the private rented market are at great risk of poverty and social exclusion.

President Trump:

Donald Trump's tweeted he'll sign his executive order temporarily banning immigration today.

The US president's hoping it'll limit competition for jobs with America's economy being badly affected by the coronavirus crisis.

It'll apply to those trying to get permanent residence.

Restaurants:

A number of Supermacs restaurants are reopening from today over a phased basis.

The outlets will be operating delivery, ‘drive thru’ and ‘drive and collect’ services, in order to comply with social distancing measures while seating areas will remain closed.

Three outlets in Galway will begin services today, while a further 12 will resume business on Friday.

Dumping:

One million euro of funds from the Anti Dumping Initiative is to be ring-fenced to tackle a reported increase in illegal dumping during the Covid-19 crisis. 

Environment Minister Richard Bruton says the money will go towards a number of measures including waste removal and the installation of CCTV cameras.

A rise in fly-tipping has been reported in a number of counties including Dublin, Cork and Louth. 

Transmission:

Up to half the population could have the coronavirus with mild to no symptoms, according to the chairman of the Coronavirus Expert Advisory Group.

There are now just over 16,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19 here and 730 people have lost their lives.

770 patients are currently being treated in hospital with the virus and 132 of them are in ICU. 

Cillian de Gascun says recent research indicates between 30 to 50 per cent of people could have the virus with few symptoms:

Facemasks:

Facemasks must be worn by all healthcare workers who provide close care to a patient.

The new rule applies to all staff who come within 2 metres of a patient for more than 15 minutes. 

The INMO says it lobbied the HSE to introduce the measure, and warmly welcomes it. 

The union says, in practice, it means nearly all frontline healthcare workers will wear facemasks.

Restrictions:

The Taoiseach says he hopes to be able to announce the lifting of some of the Covid-19 restrictions by May 5th.

Leo Varadkar says a plan's being prepared that'll set out step-by-step how the economy and society will reopen.

He says the aim's to focus on areas with the most benefit to society but the least risk.

Leo Varadkar says several factors must be considered before any restrictions are lifted:

Latest figures:

A further 44 people are confirmed to have died from Covid19 in the Republic. 

388 new cases have also been confirmed today.  

It now brings the death toll to 730 & the number of confirmed cases stands at 16,040. 

The State's Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Tony Holohan has details on the number of people who have recovered from the illness:

The most up-to-date number of confirmed cases in the midlands now stands at 749.

Westmeath continues to have highest number - up eight from Monday to 377.

In Offaly, there are now 195 recorded cases, a jump of five from Monday.

And there are seven more cases in Laois, bringing the total to 177.