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Press release

Statement from the National Public Health Emergency Team - Wednesday 16 September

The Health Protection Surveillance Centre has today been informed that 3 people with COVID-19 have died.

There has now been a total of 1,788* COVID-19 related deaths in Ireland. (*Validation of data at the HPSC has resulted in the denotification of 2 deaths. The figure of 1,788 reflects this.)

As of midnight Tuesday 15 September, the HPSC has been notified of 254 confirmed cases of COVID-19. There has now been a total of 31,799* confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ireland. (*Validation of data at the HPSC has resulted in the denotification of 4 confirmed cases. The figure of 31,799 confirmed cases reflects this.)

Of the cases notified today:

  • 115 are men and 133 are women
  • 65% are under 45 years of age
  • 61% are confirmed to be associated with outbreaks or are close contacts of a confirmed case
  • 24 cases have been identified as community transmission
  • 136 are in Dublin, 20 in Donegal, 13 in Louth, 12 in Wicklow, 9 in Waterford, 7 in Carlow, 7 in Cork, 6 in Galway, 5 in Kerry, 5 in Wexford and the remaining 28 cases are located in Clare, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Leitrim, Limerick, Longford, Mayo, Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon and Westmeath

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 COVID-19 Dashboard provides up-to-date information on the key indicators of COVID-19 in the community.

Dr. Ronan Glynn, Acting Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health, said:

"The current situation has deteriorated both in Dublin and nationally over the past week. Along with Dublin we have seen particularly concerning trends in Louth, Waterford and Donegal. It is now absolutely essential that people action public health advice and act as if they or those close to them are potentially infectious."

Professor Philip Nolan, Chair of the NPHET Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group, said:

"The reproduction number is between 1.3 – 1.7 nationally. I am more concerned than I have been at any point since late April. Case numbers appear to be growing exponentially and are likely to double every 10 to 14 days if every one of us does not immediately act to break chains of transmission of the virus. If we do not interrupt transmission now, bringing the r-number back to below 1, modelling shows that we could have 500 - 1,000 cases per day by the 16th of October, 50-60% of which would be in Dublin."

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

"There are currently 73 COVID-19 patients in hospital, 9 of these have been admitted in the past 24 hours. 14 of these patients are in ICU. We are seeing a sharp increase in rate of admissions of COVID-19 patients into our acute hospitals. We know that without a reversal of these trends, admissions can escalate rapidly to the point where our healthcare facilities will be under unsustainable pressure. It is more essential than ever that we all adhere to the basic measures which can weaken the virus in the community."

Dr. Mary Favier, COVID-19 advisor to the Irish College of General Practitioners, said:

"While we have been conducting a large number of tests on children, thanks to the vigilance of parents around symptoms and contacting GP’s with concerns, we have not witnessed a disproportionate rise in the number of confirmed cases in children."

ENDS

Hospital statistics

Total number of cases 31,551
Total number hospitalised 3,469
Total number admitted to ICU 452
Total number of deaths 1,531
Total number of healthcare workers 8,922
Number clusters notified 3,074
Cases associated with clusters 16,955
Median age 45
  • All statistics measured at midnight on Monday 14 September.

Gender of patients

Gender Number of cases % of total
Female 17,544 55.6
Male 13,974 44.3
Unknown 33 0.1
Total 31,551
  • All statistics measured at midnight on Monday 14 September.

Age range affected

Age range Number of cases
0 - 4 402
5 - 14 818
15 - 24 3,203
25 - 34 5,530
35 - 44 5,452
45 - 54 5,395
55 - 64 3,771
65 - 74 2,092
75 - 84 2,425
85+ 2,439
Unknown 24
  • All statistics measured at midnight on Monday 14 September.

How COVID-19 is spreading

Transmission classification %
Community transmission 30.1
Close contact with confirmed case 66.3
Travel abroad 2.4
Unknown 1.2
  • All statistics measured at midnight on Monday 14 September.

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 close contact.

Hospitalised cases by age group

Age range Number of cases
0 - 4 29
5 - 14 19
15 - 24 85
25 - 34 213
35 - 44 279
45 - 54 466
55 - 64 512
65 - 74 614
75 - 84 765
85+ 486
Unknown 1
  • All statistics measured at midnight on Monday 14 September.

Cases by county

Note: The Health Protection Surveillance Centre have advised that in the process of validating data and reviewing addresses, county totals may change due to cases being reassigned to another county. Totals can go up or down.

County Number of cases % of total Change since the day before
Carlow 263 0.8 +4
Cavan 910 2.9 +5
Clare 505 1.6 +2
Cork 1,697 5.4 +9
Donegal 593 1.9 +2
Dublin 14,883 47 +218
Galway 568 1.8 +4
Kerry 357 1.1 +8
Kildare 2,395 7.6 +11
Kilkenny 433 1.4 +4
Laois 420 1.3 No change
Leitrim 110 0.4 +4
Limerick 879 2.8 +7
Longford 321 1 No change
Louth 931 3 +20
Mayo 611 1.9 +5
Meath 963 3.1 +5
Monaghan 588 1.9 +2
Offaly 673 2.1 +5
Roscommon 381 1.2 +5
Sligo 162 0.5 +3
Tipperary 748 2.4 +5
Waterford 271 0.9 +11
Westmeath 731 2.3 +10
Wexford 346 1.1 +5
Wicklow 812 2.6 +7
  • All statistics measured at midnight on Monday 14 September.

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