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Press release

Statement from the National Public Health Emergency Team - Friday 17 April

The Health Protection Surveillance Centre has today been informed that 44 people diagnosed with COVID-19 in Ireland have died:

  • 33 deaths located in the east, 3 in the north west, 3 in the south and 5 in the west of the country
  • the deaths included 19 females and 25 males
  • the median age of today’s reported deaths is 84
  • 25 people were reported as having underlying health conditions

There have now been 530 COVID-19 related deaths in Ireland.

A summary of all 530 deaths provided by the HPSC shows that:

  • 308 (58%) of those who died were male, 222 (42%) were female
  • the age range is 23 - 105 years
  • the median age of those who died is 83
  • 316 of these cases were admitted to hospital with 45 admitted to ICU

As of 11.15am Friday 17 April, the HPSC has been notified of the following cases:

  • an additional 597 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported by Irish laboratories
  • an additional 112 confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported by a laboratory in Germany

With the latest figures from Germany included, there are now a total of 13,980 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ireland.

The HSE is working to identify any contacts the patients may have had to provide them with information and advice to prevent further spread.

The National Public Health Emergency Team met today (Friday 17 April) to continue its ongoing review of Ireland’s response to COVID-19.

Decisions from this meeting include:

  • to expand testing capacity to 100,000 tests per week operating on a seven-day week basis for a minimum of six months
  • over the course of the next 7 to 10 days, testing of staff and residents in all Long-Term Residential Care (LTRC) facilities to be prioritised
  • a census of mortality across all LTRC facilities to be carried out this weekend to cover all deaths, COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 since 1 January 2020, regardless of where the death occurred

Dr. Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health, said:

"At today’s meeting of the National Public Health Emergency Team, we endorsed a proposal to increase testing of staff and residents across all long-term residential care settings including nursing homes. The behaviour of the virus among vulnerable groups who live in these care settings continues to be a concern and this remains a priority for NPHET.

“While we are suppressing the disease among the general public, we cannot afford to become complacent. To remain safe from COVID-19 we need to continue to wash our hands thoroughly and regularly, cough into our elbows and practice social distancing. These simple measures can slow down the spread of this virus and save lives.”

Dr Colm Henry, Chief Clinical Officer, HSE, said:

"Each COVID-19 death reported is a tragedy. This is an incurable illness and while 80% of the population will experience a mild form of the disease, our older and more vulnerable people are at a much greater risk due to the behaviour of this disease within this group.”

Cases as of Wednesday 15 April 2020

The data from the HPSC, as of midnight, Wednesday, 15 April (13,012 cases) reveals:

  • 44% are male and 55% are female, with 436 clusters involving 2,723 cases
  • the median age of confirmed cases is 48 years
  • 2,082 cases (16%) have been hospitalised
  • of those hospitalised, 294 cases have been admitted to ICU
  • 3,347 cases are associated with healthcare workers
  • Dublin has the highest number of cases at 6,567 (51% of all cases) followed by Cork with 945 cases (7%)
  • of those for whom transmission status is known: community transmission accounts for 53%, close contact accounts for 42%, travel abroad accounts for 5%

ENDS

Hospital statistics

Total number of cases 13012
Total number hospitalised 2082
Total number admitted to ICU 294
Total number of deaths 521
Total number of healthcare workers 2723
Number clusters notified 436
Cases associated with clusters 2723
Median age 48
  • All statistics measured at midnight on Wednesday 15 April.

Gender of patients

Gender Number % of Total
Female 7117 54.6
Male 5773 44.4
Unknown 122 0.9
Total 13012
  • All statistics measured at midnight on Wednesday 15 April.

Age range affected

Age Group Number % of Total
<1 27 0.2
1 - 4 44 0.3
5 - 14 136 1
15 - 24 846 6.5
25 - 34 2231 17.1
35 - 44 2415 18.6
45 - 54 19.2
55 - 64 1806 14.5
65+ 273 22
Unknown 20 0.2
  • All statistics measured at midnight on Wednesday 15 April.

How COVID-19 is spreading

Community transmission 52%
Close contact with confirmed case 42%
Travel Abroad 6%
  • All statistics measured at midnight on Wednesday 15 April.

Note:

In the event that a person tests positive for COVID-19 and hasn't been abroad or had contact with another confirmed case in Ireland, that's known as community transmission.

In the event that a person who tests positive for COVID-19 can be linked to another confirmed case in Ireland, that's known as local transmission.

Hospitalised cases by age group

Age range Number of cases Percentage of total
<5 13 0.6
5 - 14 5 0.2
15 - 24 44 2.1
25 - 34 134 6.4
35 - 44 168 8.1
45 - 54 304 14.6
55 - 64 318 15.3
65+ 1094 52.5
Unknown 2 0.1
  • All statistics measured at midnight on Wednesday 15 April.

Cases by county

Carlow 59 0.5%
Cavan 345 2.7%
Clare 136 1%
Cork 945 7.3%
Donegal 352 2.7%
Dublin 6567 50.5%
Galway 266 2.%
Kerry 254 2%
Kildare 621 4.8%
Kilkenny 179 1.4%
Laois 139 1.1%
Leitrim 46 0.4%
Limerick 343 2.6%
Longford 79 0.6%
Louth 384 3%
Mayo 259 2%
Meath 421 3.2%
Monaghan 166 1.3%
Offaly 171 1.3%
Roscommon 61 0.5%
Sligo 69 0.5%
Tipperary 270 2.1%
Waterford 102 0.8%
Westmeath 318 2.4%
Wexford 76 0.6%
Wicklow 384 3%
  • All statistics measured at midnight on Wednesday 15 April.

≤ means 'less than or equal to'.

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