ANOTHER 102 CASES of Covid-19 have been announced in the Republic of Ireland, bringing the total number to 785. 

It now means that there are 893 confirmed cases on the island of Ireland with the North reporting 22 new diagnoses today, bringing the total there to 108.

The HSE said that is working to identify any contacts the patients may have had to provide them with information and advice to prevent further spread.

Data from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre, which has so far studied 584 cases, shows: 

• 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 55%, followed by Cork 15%

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 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.”

Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Dr Ronan Glynn added: “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.”

The HSE has once again released a breakdown of the number of people who have so far needed hospitalisation as well as how many are in ICU. An age profile of all those affected was also supplied. 

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Yesterday, 126 new cases were announced by the Department of Health. 

Minister for Health Simon Harris met with health officials today to discuss the evolving crisis. So far, 50,000 people have responded to the HSE’s recruitment drive to tackle the pandemic as the country responds to the virus. 

An emergency bill giving the government emergency detention powers during the crisis was signed into law yesterday.

On the Late Late Show last night, Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan warned that the country was at its early stages in tackling the spread of the virus.

As things stand, there are over 270,000 cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed globally, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. 

The worldwide death toll from the virus has now reached more than 11,000 people.      

With reporting by Garreth MacNamee