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23rd Sep 2020

234 new cases of Covid-19, two further deaths

Rudi Kinsella

covid cases march

The most recent figures have been released.

234 new cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed, while two further deaths were also recorded.

There have now been a total of 1,794 Covid-19 related deaths in Ireland, while the country has seen 33,675 cases since the beginning of the outbreak.

There are now 90 confirmed cases in hospitals across the country, as well as 16 confirmed cases in the ICU.

Of today’s 234 cases, 103 are in Dublin, with 30 in Donegal, 22 in Galway, 21 in Cork, 13 in Wicklow, 12 in Louth, nine in Kildare and eight in Meath.

The remaining 17 cases are spread across 10 counties.

The R number in Ireland is now estimated to be approximately 1.5-1.7.

There have been 19 Covid-related deaths to date in the month of September, acting CMO Ronan Glynn said on Wednesday night. There was four in the whole of August.

Speaking on Wednesday night, Glynn said: “The single most important thing that people all across the country need to do now is to reduce their social contacts.

“We all need to cut down on discretionary social activities. Meeting fewer people means fewer opportunities for the virus to transmit. Please prioritise who you choose to meet and try to keep your social network as small as possible.”

Professor Philip Nolan, Chair of the NPHET Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group, said: “While 14-day incidence and daily incidence have stopped rising in the last few days, it is too early to conclude that there has been any change in the pattern of disease.

“The reproduction number over the last two weeks remains high, at between 1.5 and 1.7, growth rate between 5 and 6.1, and doubling time between 12 and 14 days.

“If we are starting to suppress the virus again, it is essential that we maintain this effort: limit our social contacts, limit mixing between households.

“The next ten days are critical.”

Wednesday night’s briefing also saw it announced that there have been almost 13,000 Covid-19 tests completed per day in the last week.

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