Coronavirus Ireland: 60 further deaths and 3,231 new cases confirmed as hospitals now into surge capacity

There have been 60 further deaths of people who contracted Covid-19 and 3,231 new cases of the virus confirmed by the Department of Health this evening.

A total of 59 people died in January 2021 while one person died in December 2020.

The median age of those who died is 85 years, and the ages range between 65 to 100 years. There was no newly reported deaths of healthcare workers or people aged under 30.

It brings the total number of Covid-19 related deaths to 2,595* while here is now a total of 169,780 * confirmed cases.

Validation of data at the Health Protection Surveillance Centre has resulted in the denotification of one death and seven confirmed cases. These figures are reflected in the adjusted totals.

As of 2pm today, 1,854 Covid-19 patients are in hospital, with 191 in ICU. There were 119 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours.

Of the cases notified today:

• 1,465 are men / 1,712 are women
• 54% are under 45 years of age
• The median age is 42 years old
• 931 cases are in Dublin, 388 in Cork, 238 in Louth, 155 in Waterford, 151 in Limerick, and the remaining 1,368 cases are spread across all other counties.

Earlier today, HSE CEO Paul Reid confirmed that hospitals have gone into surge capacity as ICU numbers continue to rise.

There are now 191 Covid-19 patients in ICU as of this afternoon and Mr Reid confirmed that the agreement signed with private hospitals has been initiated to cater for spillover from the public health service.

The HSE boss said there are also 250 Covid-19 patients outside of ICU that are requiring significant assistance such as additional oxygen.

Mr Reid said 125 extra beds in private hospitals will now become available for non-Covid patients.

Elsewhere in Northern Ireland, there have been an additional 22 deaths and 705 new cases today.

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