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Statement from the National Public Health Emergency Team 14th September

There have been no new deaths reported to the Health Protection Surveillance Centre today.

There has been a total of 1,784 COVID-19 related deaths in Ireland.

As of midnight Sunday 13th September, the HPSC has been notified of 208 confirmed cases of COVID-19. There is now a total of 31,192* confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ireland. 

Of the cases notified today;

  • 98 are men / 110 are women
  • 62% are under 45 years of age
  • 33% are confirmed to be associated with outbreaks or are close contacts of a confirmed case
  • 18 cases have been identified as community transmission
  • 108 in Dublin, 18 in Louth, 12 in Donegal, 10 in Meath, 9 in Kildare, 8 in Waterford, 7 in Cork, 6 in Limerick, 6 in Wexford and the remaining 24 cases are located in Carlow, Cavan, Clare, Galway, Kilkenny, Laois, Longford, Mayo, Roscommon, Tipperary, Westmeath and Wicklow.

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;

NPHET has decided to reduce the period of isolation from 14 to 10 days for confirmed cases from the onset of symptoms, based on advice received from the Expert Advisory Group following a review of the evidence.

In addition, it has been agreed that nasal swabs are an acceptable alternative to nasopharyngeal swab for use in children in the community. This will hopefully make testing a simpler process for children going forward.

COVID-19 is an evolving pandemic and NPHET is committed to adapting advice and guidelines based on emerging evidence.

Notes to the editor

 

*Validation of data at the HPSC has resulted in the denotification of 1 confirmed case. The figure of 31,192 confirmed cases reflects this.

 

The period of self-isolation for a case of COVID-19 has changed to 10 days from onset of symptoms (or 10 days from date of test if asymptomatic), the last 5 of which should be without fever. The period for restricting movements for those who are close contacts of a case, or who have travelled to Ireland from a country not on the green list has not changed, and remains at 14 days. Guidance will be updated in the coming days to reflect this change.