Nine new cases of Covid-19 have been reported in Donegal today.
One further Covid-19 death and 520 new cases have been confirmed nationwide.
The figure is down from yesterday’s alarming update from the National Public Health Emergency Team, when 769 cases of Covid-19 were reported nationwide – the highest daily increase in cases since Friday 26 February.
The number of infections in Donegal took a significant jump yesterday, with 67 cases were reported in the county.
As of 8am today, 359 COVID-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 81 are in ICU. There have been 14 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours.
Letterkenny University Hospital, as of 8pm last night, reported seven Covid-19 patients were receiving treatment onsite, including two people with the virus in intensive care.
Health officials state that the recent spread of the virus is taking place through close contact transmission. The “extremely transmissible” B117 variant, Ireland’s most dominant variant of COVID-19, accounts for more than 90% of our cases.
Professor Philip Nolan, Chair of the NPHET Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group said: “For the week of the 7th-13th of March, 60% of disease incidence is taking place through close contact transmission and 24% in the community. 59% of transmissions are occurring in households. Outside of the household, almost half of transmissions are occurring in social gatherings and the workplace.”
