The Health Protection Surveillance Centre last night confirmed that 17 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 in Ireland have died. 

Eight deaths are in the east, three in the south, three in the north-west, and three in the west,

Patients included four females and 13 males,

Median age of yesterday’s reported deaths is 84,

Eight patients were reported as having underlying health conditions.

71 deaths

There have now been 71 COVID-19 related deaths in Ireland with 325 new confirmed cases as at 1pm on Tuesday, 31 March.

There are now 3,235 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ireland.

To date, 30,213 tests have been carried out in laboratories across the country, as of midnight on Monday, 30 March. 

Positivity rate

Over the past week, the positivity rate for tests increased from 6% to 15%, under the new case definition. 

Data as of Sunday, 29 March (2,677 cases), shows 118 clusters involving 494 cases.

• 22% of clusters are located in private houses, 20% in nursing homes, and 18% are in hospitals,
• The median age of confirmed cases is 47,
• 703 cases (26%) have been hospitalised,
• Of those hospitalised, 113 cases have been admitted to ICU,
• 647 cases are associated with healthcare workers,
• Dublin has the highest number of cases at 1,487 (55% of all cases), followed by Cork with 238 cases (9%),
• Of those for whom transmission status is known: community transmission accounts for 51%, close contact accounts for 26%, while travel abroad accounts for 23%.

The National Public Health Emergency Team wants contact tracing focused on suspect cases within prioritised groups.