Ireland is beginning to see the first signs of a lower prevalence of Covid-19, CMO Dr Tony Holohan said this evening, as 52 more Covid-related deaths and 2,371 new cases were reported nationwide.
Of the cases confirmed this evening, 32 are in Donegal.
The total number of people who have died with coronavirus in the Republic is now 2,870.
Of the newly-reported deaths today, the median age of those who passed is 82 years and the age range is 39-99 years.
As of 2pm today, 1,931 COVID-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 219 are in ICU. There have been 78 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours.
The latest data from Letterkenny University Hospital, recorded at 8pm Thursday, shows there were 98 patients with Covid-19 receiving care onsite, including five people in ICU.
Dr Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer is tonight urging the public to continue their efforts to protect their communities: “We know that the ongoing restrictions are very challenging for people but, through the hard work and sacrifice of the vast majority of people, we are starting to see the first signs of a lower prevalence of the disease in the population. Strictly adhering to the public health measures is the key to making real progress in terms of flattening the curve and lowering the current trends in our hospitals and ICUs.
“The ‘COVID-19 find-test-trace-isolate’ process is vital to our efforts. Our data is telling us that for a third of people, it’s 4 days or more from the time they first experience symptoms of COVID-19 to the time they get tested. We all need to contact our GP as soon as symptoms occur, so we can trace our contacts and prevent further infections.
“This weekend, we need everyone to stay the course with hand washing, covering coughs, wearing face coverings and keeping a 2m distance. In order to take care of each other, we need all to stay at home, except for essential reasons, to minimise the spread of COVID-19 to ourselves and our loved ones.”
