Statement from the National Public Health Emergency Team - Monday 28 December
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From: Department of Health
- Published on: 28 December 2020
- Last updated on: 30 December 2020
The Health Protection Surveillance Centre has today been notified of 1 additional death related to COVID-19.
There has been a total of 2,205 COVID-19 related deaths in Ireland.
As of midnight Sunday 27 December, the HPSC has been notified of 765 confirmed cases of COVID-19. There has now been a total of 86,894 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ireland.
Of the cases notified today:
- 401 are men and 358 are women
- 70% are under 45 years of age
- the median age is 33 years old
- 291 in Dublin, 63 in Cork, 59 in Monaghan, 49 in Louth, 43 in Meath, and the remaining 260 cases are spread across all other counties
As of 2pm today, 359 COVID-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 30 are in ICU. There have been 41 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours, with 5 additional admissions to ICU.
Dr Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health said:
"The data we are reporting today are lower than days up to 26 December. This however results from factors related to the time of the year, such as the lower rates of attendance and referrals and presentation for testing for several days over Christmas.
"We look at many metrics when monitoring the disease severity of COVID-19. Today we are reporting that we have now exceeded the cumulative number of people hospitalised in this third wave than in the second. Hospitalisations have increased sharply in the last two days. This is a concerning trend which reflects the sharp increase in incidence we saw in the last 10 days.
"We are also seeing a steep rise in the positivity rates in community testing with a seven day average of over 9.2 percent up from 5.2 percent on 18 December. This indicates that the virus is increasing its foothold out in our communities. This is just one more reason why we are strongly advising everyone to stay safely at home to avoid transmitting or catching this virus, as it continues to circulate widely.
"Please come forward for testing if you feel unwell. Know the symptoms of COVID-19, and do not delay in phoning your GP for advice. Self-isolate in your room if you have a cough, fever, shortness of breath or change in sense of taste/smell. If you are a household contact of a confirmed case you should restrict your movements for 14 days even if your own test is reported as COVID "not detected".
"In addition to staying at home except for essential reasons, these important individual actions will help to stop the exponential spread of COVID-19 in our communities and in turn protect the most vulnerable, our healthcare system and those who work on the frontlines."
ENDS
Today’s cases, 14-day incidence rate per 100,000 population and new cases in last 14 days (as of midnight 27 December 2020) (incidence rate based on Census 2016 county population)
| County | Today’s Cases (to midnight 27/12/20) | 14-Day incidence rate per 100,000 population (14 days to midnight 27/12/20) | New Cases during last 14 days (14 days to midnight 27/12/20) |
| Ireland | 765 | 220.1 | 10,481 |
| Donegal | 23 | 425.3 | 677 |
| Monaghan | 59 | 384.5 | 236 |
| Louth | 49 | 342.2 | 441 |
| Limerick | 37 | 341.7 | 666 |
| Wexford | 5 | 341.3 | 511 |
| Dublin | 291 | 265 | 3,570 |
| Kilkenny | <5 | 261 | 259 |
| Kerry | 23 | 252.5 | 373 |
| Cavan | 28 | 227.1 | 173 |
| Carlow | <5 | 214.3 | 122 |
| Sligo | 13 | 210.6 | 138 |
| Meath | 43 | 198.4 | 387 |
| Laois | 5 | 186.5 | 158 |
| Kildare | 26 | 173.5 | 386 |
| Cork | 63 | 172.2 | 935 |
| Waterford | <5 | 157.5 | 183 |
| Mayo | 9 | 129.5 | 169 |
| Clare | 14 | 128.8 | 153 |
| Galway | 18 | 128.3 | 331 |
| Wicklow | 15 | 118 | 168 |
| Westmeath | 18 | 114.9 | 102 |
| Roscommon | 10 | 103.8 | 67 |
| Tipperary | <5 | 93.4 | 149 |
| Longford | <5 | 88.1 | 36 |
| Offaly | <5 | 84.7 | 66 |
| Leitrim | <5 | 78 | 25 |
The 7 day incidence is 140.
The 5-day moving average is 949.
Hospital statistics
| Total number of cases | 86,129 |
| Total number hospitalised | 5,873 |
| Total number admitted to ICU | 666 |
| Total number of deaths | 1,945 |
| Total number of healthcare workers | 13,284 |
| Number clusters notified | 10,610 |
| Cases associated with clusters | 44,532 |
| Median age | 38 |
- All statistics measured at midnight on Saturday 26 December.
Gender of patients
| Gender | Number of cases |
| Male | 40,835 |
| Female | 45,222 |
| Unknown | 72 |
| Total | 86,129 |
- All statistics measured at midnight on Saturday 26 December.
Age range affected
| Age range | Number of cases |
| 0 - 4 | 2,395 |
| 5 - 14 | 5,927 |
| 15 - 24 | 15,033 |
| 25 - 34 | 14,626 |
| 35 - 44 | 13,551 |
| 45 - 54 | 12,880 |
| 55 - 64 | 9,201 |
| 65 - 74 | 4,851 |
| 75 - 84 | 4,132 |
| 85+ | 3,503 |
| Unknown | 30 |
- All statistics measured at midnight on Saturday 26 December.
How COVID-19 is spreading
| Transmission classification | % |
| Community transmission | 31.2 |
| Close contact with confirmed case | 64.8 |
| Travel abroad | 1.3 |
| Unknown | 2.7 |
- All statistics measured at midnight on Saturday 26 December.
Note:
When a person tests positive for COVID-19 but hasn't been abroad or had a known 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 close contact.
Hospitalised cases by age group
| Age range | Number of cases |
| 0 - 4 | 59 |
| 5 - 14 | 60 |
| 15 - 24 | 214 |
| 25 - 34 | 369 |
| 35 - 44 | 465 |
| 45 - 54 | 727 |
| 55 - 64 | 842 |
| 65 - 74 | 1,047 |
| 75 - 84 | 1,293 |
| 85+ | 795 |
| Unknown | 2 |
- All statistics measured at midnight on Saturday 26 December.
Cases by county
| County | Number of cases | Change since the day before |
| Carlow | 846 | +1 |
| Cavan | 2,413 | +9 |
| Clare | 1,668 | +19 |
| Cork | 7,402 | +131 |
| Donegal | 3,973 | +33 |
| Dublin | 31,587 | +246 |
| Galway | 3,117 | +21 |
| Kerry | 1,729 | +20 |
| Kildare | 4,585 | +23 |
| Kilkenny | 1,479 | +17 |
| Laois | 1,227 | +2 |
| Leitrim | 295 | +3 |
| Limerick | 3,647 | +45 |
| Longford | 742 | No change |
| Louth | 2,749 | +14 |
| Mayo | 1,746 | +18 |
| Meath | 3,858 | +12 |
| Monaghan | 1,497 | No change |
| Offaly | 1,279 | +4 |
| Roscommon | 1,031 | +5 |
| Sligo | 901 | +12 |
| Tipperary | 1,791 | +21 |
| Waterford | 1,301 | +17 |
| Westmeath | 1,643 | +8 |
| Wexford | 1,776 | +40 |
| Wicklow | 1,847 | +23 |
- All statistics measured at midnight on Saturday 26 December.