Statement from the National Public Health Emergency Team - Tuesday 15 September

The Health Protection Surveillance Centre has today been informed that 3 people with COVID-19 have died.

There has now been a total of 1,787 COVID-19 related deaths in Ireland.

As of midnight Monday 14 September, the HPSC has been notified of 357 confirmed cases of COVID-19. There has now been a total of 31,549* confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ireland. (*Validation of data at the HPSC has resulted in the denotification of 2 confirmed cases. The figure of 31,549 confirmed cases reflects this.)

Of the cases notified today:

• 185 are men and 172 are women
• 63% are under 45 years of age
• 38% are confirmed to be associated with outbreaks or are close contacts of a confirmed case
• 60 cases have been identified as community transmission
• 218 are in Dublin, 18 in Louth, 12 in Waterford. 11 in Kildare, 9 in Cork, 8 in Kerry, 8 in Limerick, 8 in Meath, 7 in Westmeath, 6 in Wicklow, 5 in Offaly, 5 in Roscommon, 5 in Mayo, 5 in Tipperary and the remaining 32 cases are located in Carlow, Cavan, Clare, Donegal, Galway, Kilkenny, Laois, Leitrim, Monaghan, Sligo and Wexford

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

The COVID-19 Dashboard provides up-to-date information on the key indicators of COVID-19 in the community.

Dr. Ronan Glynn, Acting Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health, said; "In the first half of 2020, Ireland responded swiftly to a new and unpredictable pandemic. Our collective response suppressed the curve, saved lives and put us on a solid foundation to deal with COVID-19 going forward.

"Now, we must focus on our response to the pandemic in the medium term. Today, Government launched a 5-Level framework. At the heart of this framework are three core messages:

• simple measures taken by everyone are our best defence against COVID-19
• no single measure will work in isolation, what matters is combination prevention
• continued cooperation and solidarity across society remains central to our response

"The basic preventions against the spread of COVID-19 remain unchanged; wash your hands regularly, physically distance from others including friends and family, wear a face covering, know the symptoms and what to do if you experience them."

ENDS

• All statistics measured at midnight on Sunday 13 September.

• All statistics measured at midnight on Sunday 13 September.

• All statistics measured at midnight on Sunday 13 September.

• All statistics measured at midnight on Sunday 13 September.

Note:

In the event that a person tests positive for COVID-19 and hasn't been abroad or had contact with another confirmed case in Ireland, that's known as community transmission.

In the event that a person who tests positive for COVID-19 can be linked to another confirmed case in Ireland, that's known as close contact.

• All statistics measured at midnight on Sunday 13 September.

Note: The Health Protection Surveillance Centre have advised that in the process of validating data and reviewing addresses, county totals may change due to cases being reassigned to another county. Totals can go up or down.

• All statistics measured at midnight on Sunday 13 September.