No weekend COVID cases in either Westmeath or Roscommon
There were no new cases of COVID-19 reported in either Westmeath or Roscommon over the weekend.
However, during Sunday, there have been twelve new cases of COVID-19 reported in Offaly.
The cases are among 147 new cases confirmed nationally as of midnight Sunday.
According to the Department of Health there are now 28,116 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ireland.
There have been no new deaths reported to the Health Protection Surveillance Centre, with the total number of COVID-19 related deaths remaining at 1,777
Of the 147 new confirmed cases:
80 are men/67 are women
71% are under 45 years of age
60 are confirmed to be associated with outbreaks or are close contacts of a confirmed case
14 cases have been identified as community transmission
73 in Dublin, 17 in Kildare, 12 in Offaly, 11 in Wicklow, 9 in Limerick and the remaining 25 cases are in Carlow, Clare, Cork, Donegal, Galway, Laois, Louth, Meath, Monaghan, Tipperary and Wexford.
This indicates that no new cases were reported during Sunday in either Westmeath or Roscommon.
The official county breakdown of cases lags a day behind the above figures and shows that as of midnight Saturday, there were no new cases in Offaly, Westmeath or Roscommon, during Saturday.
The latest county figures show there have been 684 cases in Westmeath and 353 confirmed cases in Roscommon to date.
Dr. Ronan Glynn, Acting Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health, said; “Evidence from the ECDC and international experience to date suggests that children do not commonly transmit COVID-19 to other children or adults in school settings.
“Internationally, where schools have been reopened, schools have not been a significant driver of community transmission.
“We all have a role to play in keeping this virus at low levels – this is key to protecting our education system over the coming weeks.”
Dr. Cillian DeGascun, Director of the National Virus Reference Laboratory, said: “We know that children can get multiple respiratory tract infections over the winter period and as a result could require repeated swab tests. Therefore, NPHET, HSE and NVRL are continuing to assess alternative testing methods for children.”
Dr Siobhán Ni Bhriain, Consultant Psychiatrist and Integrated Care Lead HSE, said; “There will be cases in school aged children just as there have been throughout the pandemic. When these occur, our public health teams will lead the response to limit further transmission- as has been the case in other settings throughout this pandemic.”
Dr. Mary Favier, President of the Irish College of General Practitioners, said; “Parents should remain vigilant around symptoms and keep their children isolated at home if they are experiencing fever, cough, shortness of breath, flu like symptoms, loss of taste or smell. Parents should also remain aware of asymptomatic transmission - like some adults, children may not present symptoms but can still carry the virus. If you have vulnerable people in your limited network, ensure physical distancing is adhered to and encourage regular hand washing habits with your child.”