22 dead in a day
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Coronavirus claimed the lives of 22 people in ireland yesterday – our biggest daily death toll.
New cases also surged as 424 patients were diagnosed with the killer disease.
So far, 120 people have died during the pandemic while 4,273 have the virus.
And it was revealed a quantity of vital personal protection equipment flown in from China is worthless.
Consultant Prof Martin Cormican said: “Some of it is suitable for use, some of it has limited use and some of it is not suitable for use.”
CORONAVIRUS has now killed 120 people in Ireland, it was confirmed yesterday.
The grim statistic was passed last night when it was announced another 22 people had lost their lives to Covid-19 – the deadliest day so far of the outbreak
The numbers also saw a record number of confirmed cases for one day with 424 people testing positive for the virus.
The grim news comes as the country was warned to brace itself for even more deaths.
Health chiefs last night repeated their belief that we have still not reached the expected “surge” of new cases and fatalities. The latest data from the
Department of Health confirmed it is the elderly that are at most risk from the virus.
And it came as fears grew about the vulnerability of those living in nursing homes after it emerged there have been more than three dozen clusters in the facilities for the elderly and infirm.
Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan last night expressed concern about the devastating impact the virus will have on the elderly in nursing homes.
He said the health service has been in contact with managers in the sector and issued them updated guidelines to help beat back the virus.
Dr Holohan added: “We are concerned with the number of clusters identified in nursing homes. We have identified a range of measures, working with the HSE.
“We need to see continuous actions being taken to reduce the risk of transmission in nursing home and long-term residential facilities.”
A total of 4,273 people here have
424 tested positive for coronavirus yesterday the most in any one day
tested positive for the bug since the outbreak began.
Out of the new reported deaths, 18 were in the east, three were in the south and one was in the west.
And 16 of these patients were reported as having underlying health conditions. Of the 22 new deaths recorded yesterday, the average age was 80.
The most recent detailed breakdown of the statistics from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre looked at the 3,655 notified cases registered by Wednesday night.
It found 48% of cases in Ireland are male and 51% are female. There have been 171 clusters involving 626 cases. The average age of confirmed cases is 48 and 1,039 cases, or 28%, have been hospitalised
Of those hospitalised, 148 cases have been admitted to intensive care. The figures also revealed 948 cases (26%) are associated with healthcare workers.
Dublin has the highest number of cases at 2,077 – which is 57% of the total – followed by Cork with
292 cases or 8% of overall figures.
Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Ronan Glynn urged the public to follow the protocols for fighting coronavirus. He added:
“We are now facing into the end of week one of new measures.
“It has been a tough adjustment but these efforts save lives.
“We will continue to protect vulnerable groups by staying home and following public health advice. These efforts result in lives saved.
“Anyone over 70 should remain cocooned as per public health advice, and for essential food and prescription shopping, call on family, friends or services to help you.
“Over-70s should not be leaving home.”