HEALTH OFFICIALS HAVE confirmed that a further four people with Covid-19 have died in this country.

It means that the number of people in this country with the coronavirus who have sadly died is 1,714.

The National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) has also said that a further 16 cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed, bringing the total in this country to 25,355.

Today’s data from the HPSC shows that, as of midnight on Tuesday, 16 June: 

• 57% are female and 43% are male
• The median age of confirmed cases is 48 years
• Of those hospitalised, 417 cases have been admitted to ICU
• 8,147 cases are associated with healthcare workers
• Dublin has the highest number of cases at 12,239 followed by Cork with 1,535 cases and Kildare with 1,436 cases
• Of those for whom transmission status is known, community transmission accounts for 37%, close contact accounts for 61% and travel abroad accounts for 2% 

“The National Public Health Emergency Team met today and noted that approximately half of those diagnosed with Covid-19 in the community take more than two days from the onset of symptoms to make contact with their GP,” Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan said. 

The most important actions anyone can take from the moment they experience symptoms associated with Covid-19 is to self-isolate immediately, restrict the movement of household contacts and make phone contact with their GP.

Dr Siobhán Ni Bhriain, Consultant Psychiatrist and HSE Integrated Care Lead, added: “Covid-19 symptoms are common symptoms and therefore some people may not be inclined to immediately seek medical attention for a cough, shortness of breath, change in sense of smell or fever to their GP.

“In the context of this pandemic we are asking you to do so, to help us limit the spread of Covid-19.”

Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Ronan Glynn said that a new Covid-19 dashboard will be launched this evening “which will provide up-to-date information on the key indicators of Covid-19 in the community, including the number of daily cases, deaths, number of people in hospital and ICU and a daily update on testing figures”.

“In addition, the dashboard also allows people to monitor the number of cases of Covid-19 in their local area. The management of Covid-19 is an individual task, where we all must remain aware of the disease in our community, follow public health advice and adopt protective behaviours,” Glynn said. 

Professor Philip Nolan, Chair of the NPHET Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group confirmed that the reproductive number is now estimated to be close to 0.7.

“It is heartening to see that none of the data suggests that there is a significant increase of transmission of Covid-19 in the community since the commencement of Phase 2,” Nolan said. 

The Department of Health is currently holding a press briefing after NPHET met today to discuss a range of issues including the roadmap for the reopening different business.

Some clarity is expected on whether hairdressers can reopen early, the ongoing two metre social distancing advice, and when weddings can take place.

Ireland is currently in Phase 2 of reopening and in recent weeks it was confirmed that there will only be four phases, rather than five, meaning that some measures will be fast-tracked.

With reporting by Ronan Duffy