Another 13 Westmeath cases of COVID-19

13 new cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Westmeath, according to latest official figures.

The Department of Health at its daily briefing this evening revealed there were 134 cases in Westmeath, as of midnight on Monday.

This compares to 121 on midnight Sunday. In Roscommon, there were 22 cases, no change from the previous day.

The rise in Westmeath cases comes despite the suspension of testing at Athlone's St Vincent's campus for what is likely to be at least a fortnight.

The information came as it was announced that another 25 people diagnosed with COVID-19 in Ireland have died, ten females and 15 males.
13 of the deaths were  located in the east, 8 in the north, 2 in the south and 2 in the west of the country.
There have now been 235 COVID-19 related deaths in Ireland.

And there were nationally 365 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ireland, as at 1pm, today, Wednesday. There are now 6,074 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ireland.
The HSE is now working to identify any contacts the patients may have had to provide them with information and advice to prevent further spread.

The National Public Health Emergency Team noted today’s guidance from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) that the risk of severe disease associated with COVID-19 in the EU and UK is considered moderate for the general population and very high for vulnerable groups.
The ECDC also advised that it is currently too early to start lifting community and physical distancing measures and that Member States should continue to adopt a public health based approach of testing and contact tracing.
Dr. Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health, said; “Ireland continues to follow ECDC guidance with regards to testing, contact tracing and the implementation of community measures such as physical distancing and cocooning. This is the most effective way we have of slowing down the spread of this virus and saving lives.
“Our public health guidance is under constant review and the National Public Health Emergency Team will meet again on Friday morning to review the impact of ongoing measures.”
Dr. Ronan Glynn, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health, said; “The ECDC has said that the probability of continued spread of COVID-19 is very high. The risk of exceeding the capacity of the health system remains high even in countries like Ireland where significant public health restrictions have been put in place.
“It is for these reasons that we continue to ask people to stay at home and to follow public health advice. While we know these measures are difficult especially as we approach a sunny, bank holiday weekend, the efforts we are seeing from the public are having an impact and making a real difference.”