The Health Protection Surveillance Centre has confirmed that there have now been three deaths associated with COVID-19 in Ireland with 191 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of midday yesterday.

There are now 557 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ireland.

Contacts

The HSE is now working to identify any contacts the patients may have had, to provide them with information and advice to prevent further spread.

The latest data from HPSC, as of midnight Tuesday 17 March (350 cases), reveals:

• Of the 350 cases notified, 55 per cent are male and 43 per cent are female, with 26 clusters
• Median age of confirmed cases is 43 years
• 31 per cent of cases have been hospitalised. 
• 2 per cent (7 cases) admitted to ICU.
• 84 cases are associated with healthcare workers, 28 of whom are associated with foreign travel. 
• Dublin has the highest number of cases at 172, followed by Cork (62) and Limerick (14)

Of those for whom transmission status is known, community transmission accounts for 35 per cent, local transmission/ close contact accounts for 21 per cent, travel abroad accounts for 43 per cent; 71 remain under investigation.

Pandemic

Dr Breda Smyth, Director of Public Health Medicine, HSE; “Healthcare workers are at the frontline of this pandemic.

“While it is heartening to see social distancing measures taken seriously across society, this must continue in order to protect the most vulnerable and support our healthcare staff throughout this pandemic.”