Home News Coronavirus: 1,066 new cases and three deaths as harrowing details from Galway...

Coronavirus: 1,066 new cases and three deaths as harrowing details from Galway nursing home emerge

A further 1,066 Coronavirus cases have been announced and a further three additional deaths – all of which passed away this month.

Of today’s cases, 15 of them are in Laois, meaning the county’s 14-day incident rate per 100,000 people is now 222 from 212.5 which it was yesterday. The national average is 302.

For further context, the Laois rate was 69.66 on August 7 when the county was placed in a localised lockdown along with Kildare and Offaly.

The 14-day incident rate in Laois previously peaked at over 178 on April 21 when there was 155 active cases.

Of the cases notified today;

  • 536 are men / 528 are women
  • 67% are under 45 years of age
  • The median age is 32 years old
  • 244 in Dublin, 104 in Galway, 98 in Cork, 92 in Meath and the remaining 528 cases are spread across all remaining counties.

As of 2pm today 313 COVID-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 37 are in ICU. 20 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours.

Dr. Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health said; “We are now in Level 5 because the disease is at very serious levels in our country and posing a significant risk to public health.

“We all need to stay at home, except for essential work and exceptional circumstances. If you are a confirmed case self isolate at home, if you are a close contact of a confirmed case restrict your movements at home, if you are experiencing symptoms or believe you are a close contact – restrict your movements and contact your GP.”

Dr. Heather Burns, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health said; “The 14-day incidence was at 3 per 100,000 at the end of June, today it is 302 per 100,000 population. The risk of you being exposed to COVID-19 is now 100 times greater than it was 4 months ago. Please limit your risk by staying at home and following public health advice.”

Professor Philip Nolan, Chair of the NPHET Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group, said “The reproduction number is 1.3 -1.4 nationally. Our collective goal now is to suppress transmission of the virus and bring our case numbers to manageable levels. If we work hard together to get the reproduction number to 0.5, we should succeed in reducing cases to below 100 a day in six weeks time.”

Dr Colm Henry, Chief Clinical Officer, HSE, said; “Based on our experience, widespread community transmission results in spread to vulnerable groups in congregated settings. The single most effective measure to protect vulnerable groups, including nursing homes, is to reduce community transmission significantly. Every one of us has a role to play to achieve this.”

From July 4 to July 18, there was no active case in the county and the incident rate was zero.

New Cases in Laois

  • October 21 – 15
  • October 20 – 19
  • October 19 – 14
  • October 18 – 23
  • October 17 – 23
  • October 16 – 13
  • October 15 – 8
  • October 14 – 32
  • October 13 – 3
  • October 12 – 4
  • October 11 – 6
  • October 10 – 8
  • October 9 – 7
  • October 8 – 5

14-day case rate in Laois per 100,000 population

  • October 21 – 222
  • October 20 – 212.5
  • October 19 – 199.5
  • October 18 – 186.5
  • October 17 – 173.6
  • October 16 – 151.13
  • October 15 – 168.84
  • October 14 – 160.57
  • October 13 – 135.78
  • October 12 – 139.32
  • October 11 – 134.6
  • October 10 – 133.42
  • October 9 – 123.97
  • October 8 – 122.79

New cases in Laois during past 14 days

  • October 21 – 188
  • October 20 – 180
  • October 19 – 169
  • October 18 – 158
  • October 17 – 147
  • October 16 – 128
  • October 15 – 143
  • October 14 – 136
  • October 13 – 115
  • October 12 – 118
  • October 11 – 114
  • October 10 – 113
  • October 9 – 105
  • October 8 – 104

Galway Nursing Home

The majority of staff and 26 out of 28 residents of a Galway nursing home have tested positive for Covid-19.

Nightingale Nursing Home in Lowville, Ahascragh, Ballinasloe, has been left with just one nurse, one care assistant, a chef, and a food server after all other staff members tested positive for coronavirus, according to the director of nursing there.

Patricia MacGabhann, who herself has tested positive for Covid-19, said she has begged for help from the HSE but the remaining two nursing staff have been left on their own today.

See full report here

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