HEALTH OFFICIALS HAVE confirmed one more patient diagnosed with Covid-19 has died and there are 89 new cases of the disease in Ireland.

It brings the total number of Covid-19 cases in the Republic of Ireland to 29,114. There have been 1,777 deaths of patients diagnosed with the disease.

Yesterday, officials reported 217 new cases, the highest daily figure since May.

Health officials clarified that the death reported today occurred in June, meaning there has been no new deaths from Covid-19 in Ireland for 11 days.

Of today’s cases:

• 40 are in men and 48 are in women
• 63% are in those aged under 45
• 56% are confirmed to be associated with outbreaks or are close contacts of a confirmed case
• 8 cases have been identified as community transmission
• 53 are in Dublin, 15 are in Limerick and the remaining 21 cases are in Clare, Cork, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Leitrim, Longford, Meath, Offaly, Waterford, Westmeath, Wexford and Wicklow.

The chair of NPHET’s Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group Professor Philip Nolan said an analysis of new cases in the past week found that the epidemic is growing “very slowly” across Ireland.

“The R number is just above 1, perhaps as high as 1.2, so the virus is circulating in the community at levels we don’t want to see,” he explained.

“This means we need to remain focused on our shared national priorities, which are the safe reopening of schools, continuing to resume non-Covid healthcare and protecting the most vulnerable to this dangerous disease.”

Acting Chief Medical Officer Ronan Glynn reminded the public to continue their efforts to curb the effects of Covid-19 on society.

“The effort to suppress Covid-19 begins in our own homes,” he said.

“Many confirmed cases in the past weeks and months have been close contacts of confirmed cases.

“It is in our own household through regular handwashing, cough and sneeze hygiene, cleaning surfaces, limiting the number of visitors and isolating as soon as we experience any concerning symptoms that we can make the biggest impact.”