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PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICIALS have recorded 5,940 positive PCR cases of Covid-19 in Ireland today.
Additionally, 6,620 positive antigen tests have been registered through the HSE website for a combined total of 12,560.
As of 8am this morning, 630 patients with Covid-19 were in hospital, including 65 in intensive care.
A total of 92 deaths related to Covid-19 have been newly notified in the past week, bringing the total number of deaths to 6,228 since the beginning of the pandemic.
Yesterday, the Department of Health reported an additional 4,208 positive PCR cases and 6,410 antigen tests.
624 Covid-19 patients were in hospital yesterday, with 66 in ICU.
Since last week, the Department of Health has decided to release Covid-19 case numbers from Monday to Friday, rather than over the weekend.
Figures will be released on Mondays pertaining to the preceeding days over the weekend.
Daily information on people with Covid-19 in hospital and intensive care will continue to be updated daily on the Covid-19 Data Hub.
Since last month, people are now able to register positive antigen tests through an online HSE system. As a result, health authorities are now releasing two individual case numbers – laboratory-confirmed PCR results, and self-reported antigen results.
People who test positive via antigen are no longer required to seek a confirmatory PCR test, meaning there will be an artificial decline in these figures.
However, this comes at the same time as case numbers are expected to decline regardless as the peak of the Omicron wave passes.
Senior members of NPHET appeared before an Oireachtas Committee today to update TDs and senators on the current situation with the pandemic.
Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan told the committee that Ireland is in a positive position with Covid-19 but the global public health risk remains high.
He said more variants of concern are likely to emerge in the future and the country must stay prepared to deal with them.
“Therefore, we must remain vigilant and ensure that our response is agile and flexible, with an ability to respond rapidly and appropriately to any emerging threat.”
H said it “remains critical that if you have any symptoms of Covid-19 you self-isolate immediately”.
“Those who are identified as a close contact of a confirmed case need to follow the appropriate public health measures.”
With reporting by Hayley Halpin
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Cases…and deaths going up
@In the paper: Deaths are not from the last week. They were notified in the last week. But nothing about all the cancer deaths in the past week or deaths from any other illnesses that are more sever than COVID.. Case numbers don’t really matter much anymore. Both hospital & ICU numbers going down. They’re the important ones.
@John Barry: so fingers in the ears and head in the sand , gotcha.
@Anto Curran: You mean like the with the other illnesses that’s going on that people can’t get appointments for? No, no fingers in the ears & head in the sand. But we’ve been dealing with this for the past 2 years, but what has been done to our health services in the last 20 years??? There’s more than COVID going on, that’s what I’m saying!!
not really..people die everyday unfortunately..restrictions were put in place to ensure hospitals arnt overrun..as of right now hospital numbers for covid are dropping and hospitals are coping whilst cases remain fairly high..which is a positive thing.if restrictions and things were to save lives wed still be in our houses avoiding everybody from now until eternity.which is no way to live in my opinion although it seems few others would disagree with this.we could avoid car crashes if we took away everybody’s car and got rid of roads.but that’s just not plausible now is it?by all means tho to people who are still looking obsessively at cases and worrying themselves they can stay under their bed until they are dead.but dont go round giving out to folk who want to live the one life they get
@In the paper: You should have put “… So there!” at the end of that comment.
@Anto Curran: he explained why the cases aren’t a worry on their own. Something that NPHET and the government agree with.
This was obvious that numbers would rise sharply, reason no scientific proof what the government did in lifting restrictions all at once basically was a 50/50 gamble.
@Thomas Armstrong: er, sharply? I looked at the covid app and the trend is flat. What matters anyway is hospitalisations – and according to the same app there were 44 admissions, and 76 discharges yesterday. Curve flattened.
About 2,600 extra test results over yesterday (18,665 compared to 15904 current published lab results) only a slight increase in percentage. Because Omicron spread to infect 5 times the number of people when compared to delta this more than offset the milder effects of Omicron. This is easy to see in the world stats https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#main_table where cases went from under 600,000 a day to over 3,000,000 a day and deaths have risen from a low of about 6,000 to the current high of 10,000 a day. This actually in making Omicron as deadly as Delta because it infects so many more people. But hidden in these numbers is the effect the vaccine is having in protecting people particularly in Ireland.
@Niall Ó Cofaigh: your comment that ‘this is making omicron as deadly as delta’ is a false comment – the data doesn’t back up your false claim – you have repeatedly sliced and diced data from all over and place and haven’t compared like with like – the reason we are put of restrictions is precisely because the data shows omicron is not as deadly as delta – that’s the fact and you shouldn’t be spreading misinformation to the contrary just beacuse you don’t understand how to interpret data
@Niall Ó Cofaigh: really depends on the country and their level of vaccination. Countries with high levels of vaccination are not seeing the rise in severe illness, ourselves being a prime example. Countries with low vaccination numbers like Poland and lots of other countries in Eastern Europe and even the USA are seeing deaths and severe illnesses rising to early and pre vaccine roll-out numbers.
@Dave Hammond: I think it is you who doesn’t understand. Niall has been probably the most informative commentary here since all this started and I don’t think he handpicked any data or information to suit a narrative. I would guess it is You, who doesn’t understand.
92 ppl lost there lives due to covid ppl saying icu numbers are down ya becouse they have passed RiP
@Paul Dunne: it doesn’t say due to covid, it says related to covid.
Sadly, it might have been their time either way
@Paul Dunne: Incorrect.
@Paul Dunne: Not necessarily. People do make recoveries from COVID too. So could be the case for falling numbers too.
Rest in peace
@Richarddoherty: whist.
I find it odd that deaths went but hospital numbers went down. Are people avoiding seeking medical attention I wonder? (Semi rhetorical question!)
@Ashling Fenton: *deaths went up
@Ashling Fenton: it can take weeks for deaths to be officially notified
@Ashling Fenton: in some cases all that can be done is to provide oxygen and bipap and some steroids and antibiotics and for some in healthcare settings hospital may not be an option. For some in hospital ICU may not be an option. Part of what feeds into this is the likelihood of recovery and the ICU team assess this before intubation. Also remember that the drop in ICU numbers is in part as a result of deaths in ICU. Since most of the people tend to be elderly and have some underlying condition they are likely to seek medical attention early but this may not result in hospital or ICU admission if they are already in a healthcare setting (ie nursing home).
@johnny onion eye: this is 100% true but also interesting enough is how the death graphs tend to shadow the cases graphs in some previous waves here and in other countries. Hopefully the fall in case numbers will result in a fall in death numbers by next week in Ireland and around the world we hopefully see death numbers falling soon too. The shadowing of case to death graphs does make me wonder how many cases are being reported quickly through the local coroner’s office and how many are delayed and reported by relatives. If a death is from covid then the coroner is notified and the death registered by the coroner as soon as possible. This was introduced to avoid a long delay in reporting deaths.https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/death/death_and_bereavement_during_covid19.html#lc65d5
92 deaths with CV19 WOW, they really continue this scaremongering. Should have at least stated of the 92 deaths, none was CV19 the cause of the death.
There was no reason for this to be reported.
In the past two years 6,136 Covid deaths. In the past two years 18,250 cancer deaths.
can the journal use an image of the figures as a line graph? .. as the headline pic,
Time for a second booster i think
@Noel Donohue: I’m on my 13th ..you can’t be too careful :;-)
@JohnDoe: I’m with you on that
Another lockdown before Easter
@Noel Donohue: more chance of a lock in
Where’s that muppet Sean today?
I suppose these deaths are fake too. His imaginary daughter must be off today?
@Philip Keaveney: No, he’s posted. Maybe his daughter was held up on her ward rounds.
@Philip Keaveney: he has appeared with the same comment he posts everyday. He isn’t in every ICU in the country and neither is his “consultant daughter” yet they seem to know more than someone who would know, like Catherine Motherway for example. Just another faceless troll on the Internet.
So good they posted this article twice!
Double death rates in two weeks — something wrong here !
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