Covid-19 latest: 9 deaths, 400 cases, with less than 5 in Carlow & Kilkenny

NPHET has reported nine more Covid-related deaths and 400 new cases of Covid-19 with less than five in Carlow and Kilkenny.

Kilkenny has had no new cases with the 14-day incidence rate dropping to 23 per 100,000 which is second best in the country behind Sligo.

Up to four more cases have been confirmed in Carlow with the infection rate steady at 42 per 100,000 which is now 5th best in the country.

The national average is 147 per 100,000 and the five-day moving average is now 408, a drop of over 23% on last week.

The reproduction number has fallen to between 0.7 to 1.1, down from being over 1 in recent weeks.

NPHET says the reopening of schools has had a “minimal” effect on the spread of the Covid-19 here.

Head of the team’s modelling group, Professor Phillip Nolan, says any slight increase after schools reopened is explained by more testing.