Two more confirmed cases in Westmeath
Two more confirmed cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in Westmeath on Thursday, latest figures have shown.
There were 14 confirmed cases in total by midnight Thursday, the Department of Health has confirmed, up from 12 at midnight on Wednesday and 7 on midnight on Tuesday.
There remains five or fewer cases confirmed in Roscommon (where the number is five or fewer, the Department of Health is not giving a specific number in order to protect patient confidentiality).
Nationally, the Department of Health has reported 102 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ireland.
There are now 785 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ireland.
An analysis of the figures as of midnight Thursday 19 March (584 cases), reveals;
· Of the 584 cases notified at that stage, 55% are male and 44% are female, with 29 clusters involving 157 cases.
· The median age of confirmed cases is 44 years
· 30% of cases have been hospitalised
· 13 cases admitted to ICU - representing 2% of all cases hospitalised
· 147 cases - 25% of cases are associated with healthcare workers
· Dublin has the highest number of cases at 320, followed by Cork 88. Galway 21, Kildare 18, Wicklow 17, Limerick 15 and then Westmeath at 14.
Of those for whom transmission status is known, community transmission accounts for 42%, close contact accounts for 23%, travel abroad accounts for 35%.
Dr. Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health, said; “The Department is aware that pubs in some areas of the country are continuing to open, in contravention of existing public health advice.
"If any such premises become known to us, the Minister will be advised to use his regulatory powers to enforce the temporary closure of premises in order to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
“We are also asking An Garda Siochana to assist in encouraging the public to abide by the public health advice on social distancing by encouraging any groups congregating in public to disperse.”
Dr Ronan Glynn, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health, said; “We must continue in our efforts to limit the spread of Covid-19 together, as a society, to protect our healthcare workers and our most vulnerable.”