Coronavirus: Two of 28 new COVID-19 deaths were of people in north-west

The Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) was informed on Thursday that 28 more patients diagnosed with COVID-19 in Ireland have died, 15 females and 13 males.

Twenty-two of the deaths were located in the east, two in the north-west, two in the south and two in the west.

The median age of today’s reported deaths is 84 and 19 people were reported as having underlying health conditions.

There have now been 263 COVID-19 related deaths in the 26 counties and there were 500 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 as at 1pm, Thursday, April 9.

There are now 6,574 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the 26 counties.

The National Public Health Emergency Team’s modelling data has revealed that the growth of transmission has reduced from 33% daily in the early weeks of this outbreak, to 9% this week.

The number of people, on average, that someone with COVID 19 is likely to infect was high at the beginning of the outbreak at 4.5. This ‘R’ (reproduction) number has also reduced very significantly.

rofessor Philip Nolan, Chair of the NPHET Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group (IEMAG) said; “When an R number increases by even a fraction above 1, the number of new cases per day will rise, slowly but inexorably.

“We are at a very delicate and critical point in our response to this pandemic.”

Dr. Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health, said; “The virus is still sustaining itself in our community. If we do not stay at home and practice physical distancing then we are not stopping the spread.

“It is crucial that each one of us take seriously the risks this virus poses, follows the guidelines and limit the opportunity for this virus to spread.

“We must follow the public health advice as closely as we possibly can so that we can limit the spread of the virus.

"Stay at home, practice physical distancing, practice hand hygiene, protect eachother."

Dr. Colm Henry, Chief Clinical Officer, HSE said; “I would like to acknowledge the enormous efforts of healthcare workers caring for patients in hospitals and the community. The best way people can show support for them is by staying at home and observing the guidelines. This keeps everyone safe.”