Coronavirus: Sixty-eight cases (2.1%) of COVID-19 in Donegal as Irish death toll rises to 134

As of Thursday there have been 4623 confirmed cases in Ireland - 3,849 in the south and 774 in the north.

One hundred and thirty-four people have now died from the illness in Ireland - 98 in the south and 36 in the north.

Today’s data from the HPSC in Dublin reveal that, as of midnight, Tuesday, March 31, (3282 cases) 48% are male and 50% are female, with 160 clusters involving 659 cases.

The median age of confirmed cases is 48 years and 932 cases (28%) have been hospitalised.

Of those hospitalised, 134 cases have been admitted to ICU.

A total of 841 cases (26%) are associated with healthcare workers.

In Donegal there were 68 confirmed cases (2.1%), a rise of eight from 63 on Monday.

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% and travel abroad accounts for 17%.

Since yesterday 13 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 in the south have died.

Nine deaths were located in the east, one in the south, and three in the west of the country

The patients who died included four females and nine males and 10 of the patients were reported as having underlying health conditions.

There have now been 98 COVID-19 related deaths in the 26 counties with the median age of deaths in Ireland, 82.

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.”

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