Chief Medical Officer warns against easing of efforts to curb the spread of Covid-19 despite Ireland now being one of only four EU countries with a reduction in its seven-day incidence
Five more people have died & 416 new cases confirmed, 17 of them across Carlow & Kilkenny
Five more people have died and 416 new cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed in this country.
Ten of these are in Carlow with another seven in Kilkenny meaning each county now to date has had a positive tests for 535 and 745 people respectively.
Of the latest figures 230 are female and 186 are male. 64% are aged under 45 years with the median age of 34 years.
As of 2pm today 320 Covid-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 41 are in Intensive Care Units. While there have been 19 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours.
Incidence Rate …
The national 14 day incidence rate per 100,000 population has dropped to 268.7. Carlow’s has dropped below the 300 mark to 298.6 and Kilkenny’s is down to 134.
Dr. Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health said; “We are making progress in suppressing the current rise of COVID-19. Ireland is currently one of only four countries in the EU with a reduction in its seven-day incidence. Nationally, our reproductive number has reduced to about 1.0″.
He adds “We are working collectively to achieve suppression, but it is too early to ease our efforts. The incidence is decreasing in young adults but it continues to rise in those aged over 75. We have more to do but we are on the right track.”
As of midnight Friday (30th October) there have been 1,913 virus related deaths in Ireland & 61,456 positive tests nationwide after the denotification of 19.
In the UK …
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s expected to announce a second lockdown for England later.
He’s due to speak at a news conference this evening, with speculation he’ll order pubs, restaurants and non-essential shops to close for a month.
It’s because of data showing surging cases of coronavirus, and projections that hospitals could become overwhelmed.
Sky’s political editor Beth Rigby says this lockdown won’t be as strict as the first.
