13 April 2020
By Mary Bermingham
mary@TheCork.ie
Todays running total for Ireland is 10,647 confirmed cases & 365 COVID-19 related deaths, but progress is being made, please #StayAtHome if you can
The Health Protection Surveillance Centre has today been informed that 31 people diagnosed with COVID-19 in Ireland have died.
· 26 deaths located in the east, 3 in the north west, 1 in the south and 1 in the west of the country
· the deaths included 18 females and 13 males
· the median age of today’s reported deaths is 82
· 25 people were reported as having underlying health conditions
There have now been 365 COVID-19 related deaths in Ireland. A summary of all 365 deaths provided by the HPSC shows that;
· 215 (59%) of those who died were male, 150 (41%) were female
· The median age of those who died is 82
· 247 of these cases were admitted to hospital with 37 admitted to ICU
As of 11.15am Monday 13 April, the HPSC has been notified of the following cases;
· An additional 527 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported by Irish laboratories
· An additional 465 confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported by a laboratory in Germany
With the latest German figures included, there are now a total of 10,647 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, Saturday, 11 April (9,484 cases) – and including German results received to that date, reveals:
· 45% are male and 54% are female, with 401 clusters involving 1,795 cases
· the median age of confirmed cases is 48 years
· 1,849 cases (20%) have been hospitalised
· Of those hospitalised, 268 cases have been admitted to ICU
· 2,489 cases are associated with healthcare workers
· Dublin has the highest number of cases at 5,006 (53% of all cases) followed by Cork with 730 cases (8%)
· Of those for whom transmission status is known: community transmission accounts for 66%, close contact accounts for 27%, travel abroad accounts for 7%
Research conducted on behalf of the Department of Health shows that the percentage of the population who feel we are experiencing the worst of the pandemic right now has risen strongly from 11% on 16 March to 37% today, though 55% feel the worst is still ahead of us.
The nationally representative online survey of 1,270 adults conducted today, which is conducted twice weekly, reveals:
· The percentage of people behaving safely continues to rise for behaviours such as washing hands (94%) and using sanitizer (81%), but has fallen for sitting apart from others (59%) possibly reflecting more time spent at home
· The vast majority are staying at home rather than going out: up from 78% on 16 March to 90% currently
· While a significant proportion of the population reported feelings of worry (43%) and anxiety (38%), a similar proportion reported feelings of enjoyment (46%) and happiness (36%) in today’s survey.
Dr. Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health, said; “Today marks a milestone in Ireland’s experience of COVID-19 as we see the number of confirmed cases exceed 10,000.
“The number of community cases of COVID-19 shows why we continue to need the public health measures that we currently have in place. I understand that the current restrictions are tough, especially during a bank holiday weekend when in normal circumstances most of us would have met up with family and friends but I ask that the public continue to work with us and follow the guidelines that are in place.
“The next three weeks will prove crucial to Ireland’s COVID-19 story and by working together we give ourselves the best chance to slow the spread and save lives.”
The Department of Health’s COVID-19 Information Dashboard; providing latest case information.