LAST UPDATE | 6 Apr 2020
THERE ARE NOW 99 clusters of Covid-19 in nursing homes and residential settings around the country, Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan confirmed this evening.
57 cases had most recently been confirmed in data accurate up to midnight on 3 April, according to the latest report from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC).
The most up to date information provided by Holohan this evening confirmed there are now 99 clusters in nursing homes and residential settings.
The data in the HPSC report includes some information accurate up to 5 April, with some data up to midnight on 3 April - such as total cases.
Figures released yesterday showed there were 50 Covid-19 clusters in the country’s nursing homes as of 2 April. This number rose by 7 in the space of one day, according to the latest data.
Of the 57 nursing home clusters, 41 were in the east of the country according to the HPSC.
On Sunday, Minister for Health Simon Harris announced new measures aimed at supporting nursing homes during the crisis.
Measures include staff screening in nursing homes twice a day, Covid-19 testing being prioritised for staff and the HSE providing access to PPE, expert advice and training.
A temporary financial support scheme is also to be established in the coming days to support private and voluntary nursing homes in managing any outbreak that occurs. The scheme is envisaged to last for three months and will be reviewed after the first month of operation.
Clusters found in hospitals rose from 37 to 43 on the previous day. 36 clusters were also found in private homes and 26 in residential institutions.
Those aged 65+ make up 24.1% of cases and people aged 24 and under account for a total of 7.4% of all cases, as of midnight 3 April.
So far, 24 children under the age of four have contracted the virus.
The median age of all cases is 48, the report said. 1,203 people have been hospitalised with the virus, which makes up 27.1% of all cases.
Nearly half of all people aged 65+ with Covid-19 have been hospitalised so far (49.3%). 165 people in total had been admitted to Intensive Care Units.
Of the 1,163 cases who were healthcare workers, 74% had no history of foreign travel in the 14 days prior to onset of symptoms.
In terms of cases per county, there are 2,490 cases in Dublin which accounts for 56% of all cases. This is followed by Cork which has 7.7% of cases and Kildare with 3.4%.
It is not known how nearly 29.6% of cases were transmitted in Ireland. 22.1% of cases were infected through community transmission and 22.1% through possible community transmission.
Health officials announced this evening a further 16 deaths and 370 cases of Covid-19 confirmed in Ireland in the past day.
There are now a total of 5,364 confirmed cases in Ireland and 174 people have died from Covid-19.
With reporting by Orla Dwyer.
This piece has been amended to clarify that there were 99 confirmed clusters in both nursing homes and residential settings.
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