LAST UPDATE | 22 May 2020

A FURTHER 11 people have died from Covid-19 in Ireland, the Department of Health has confirmed.

A further 115 cases of the virus have also been confirmed here, bringing the total number of cases to 24,506.

The death toll from Covid-19 in Ireland is now 1,592.

Of the 24,351 cases reported as of midnight 20 May, data from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) shows the following:

• 52% are female and 43% are male
• the median age of confirmed cases is 48 years
• 3,194 cases (13%) have been hospitalised
• Of those hospitalised, 393 cases have been admitted to ICU
• 7,791 cases are associated with healthcare workers
• Dublin has the highest number of cases at 11,794 (48% of all cases), followed by Cork with 1,398 cases (6%), and Kildare with 1,383 cases (6%)
• Of those for whom transmission status is known, community transmission accounts for 60%, close contact accounts for 37% and travel abroad accounts for 3%

Speaking this evening, Dr Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer at the Department of Health, said the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) today recommended that the HSE “build on the very significant work to date in expanding the testing capacity, to ensure that there is an integrated and coordinated clinical and public health-informed approach to the establishment and implementation of a national testing strategy”.

Dr Ronan Glynn, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, said that research conducted on behalf of the Department of Health “shows that 86% of people rate their knowledge on how to prevent the spread of Covid-19 as high”.

“This is essential knowledge for all of society to have and use as we move safely through the phases ahead.”

Dr Siobhán Ní Bhriain, consultant psychiatrist and Integrated Care Lead with the HSE, added that individual health is “never more important than it is during this time of pandemic”.

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“I would encourage every member of society to register with a GP and establish an access point to the healthcare system,” she said.

Validation of data at the HPSC has resulted in the denotification of two deaths, the figure of 1,592 deaths reflects this.

With reporting from Dominic McGrath at the Department of Health.

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