People with serious illness should not stay away from hospitals because of coronavirus fears.
That’s the clear message from the Chief Medical Officer at the Department of Health Dr Tony Holohan who said he did not ignore his own symptoms when he felt unwell, and he attended hospital.
He added that empty hospital waiting rooms are “of concern” and clearly some people should “not stay away”.
His comments come as the latest figures showed 13 patients diagnosed with coronavirus in Ireland died today.
Of those who died, nine were in the east, one in the south, and three in the west of the country. The patients were made up of four women and nine men and ten of them were reported to have underlying health conditions. There have now been 98 coronavirus related deaths in Ireland with the median age at 82 years old.
Confirmed Cases
The Health Protection Surveillance Centre has been informed of 402 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ireland, as at 1pm, Thursday 2nd April. There are now 3,849 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ireland.
The HSE is now working to identify any contacts the patients may have had to provide them with information and advice to prevent further spread.
Dr. Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health, said; “We have a more detailed ICU report available this evening. Of 148 cases admitted to ICU, 25 of those cases have been discharged, sadly there have been 14 deaths from ICU and 109 remain in ICU. The median age of ICU admission is 62.
“I would also like to highlight a worrying scene I witnessed during my visit to hospital on Tuesday evening; empty waiting rooms and empty beds. While protecting yourself from COVID-19 is a priority, no one should ignore signs that they may need medical attention for other ailments such as lumps, chest pain or other concerns. Please do not ignore any symptom outside of COVID-19. The hospitals are there for all ailments, not just COVID-19.”
Today’s data reveals:
- 48% are male and 50% are female, with 160 clusters involving 659 cases
- Median age of confirmed cases is 48 years
- 932 cases (28%) have been hospitalised
- Of those hospitalised, 134 cases have been admitted to ICU
- 841 cases (26%) are associated with healthcare workers
- Dublin has the highest number of cases at 1,838 (56% of all cases) followed by Cork with 272 cases (8%)
- Of those for whom transmission status is known: community transmission accounts for 60%, close contact accounts for 23%, travel abroad accounts for 17%
Department of Health’s COVID-19 Information Dashboard; providing latest case information.
Local figures
Currently, 37 confirmed cases are reported in Kilkenny and four in Carlow.
