It has just been announced that there has been 126 new cases of Covid-19 in the Republic of Ireland in the past 24 hrs.
It brings the total number to 683.
The news has just been announced at a Department of Health press briefing that is underway now.
Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Hololan said:
"40% of the cases, 137 in total are community acquired. 73 relate to contact with confirmed cases which is 21% and 132 or 39% are travel related.
"The remainder under investigation.
"There are now 114 of cases that are healthcare workers, which is in and around one in four."
The latest data from HPSC, as of midnight 18th March (438 cases) revealed:
Of the 438 cases notified, 55% are male and 43% are female, with 27 clusters involving 142 cases
· Median age of confirmed cases is 44
· 32% of cases have been hospitalised
· 2.7% (12 cases) admitted to ICU - representing 8.6% of all cases hospitalised
· 114 cases are associated with Healthcare workers, 36 of whom are associated with foreign travel
· Dublin has the highest number of cases at 51%, followed by Cork 15% and Limerick and Wicklow have 3% of cases each
Of those for whom transmission status is known, community transmission accounts for 40%, local transmission/ close contact accounts for 21%, travel abroad accounts for 39%; 96 cases remain under investigation.
