COVID-19: 17 more deaths as 73 new cases confirmed in Ireland

A further 17 people with COVID-19 have died in Ireland, the Health Protection Surveillance Centre confirmed this evening.

There have now been a total 1,631 COVID-19 related deaths in Ireland.

As of midnight last night, the HPSC has been notified of a further 73 confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the total of number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in Ireland to 24,803.

Today’s data from the HPSC, as of midnight, Monday, May 25 (24,730 cases), revealed that:

• 57% of confirmed cases are female and 43% are male
• the median age of confirmed cases is 48 years
• 3,251 cases (13%) have been hospitalised
• Of those hospitalised, 399 cases have been admitted to ICU
• 7,891 cases are associated with healthcare workers
• Dublin has the highest number of cases at 11,961 (48% of all cases) followed by Cork with
• 1,451 cases (6%) and then Kildare with 1,408 cases (6%)
• Of those for whom transmission status is known: community transmission accounts for 40%, close contact accounts for 58%, travel abroad accounts for 2%

Dr. Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health, said: “To date, 90% of confirmed cases diagnosed with COVID-19 have recovered. But we cannot afford to stop the hard work involved in suppressing this virus.

“COVID-19 is a new disease. Ireland and the world understand more about the virus now than we did at the outset of this crisis. What we do know is that hand washing, social distancing and knowing when to self-isolate do work.

“These measures are the most effective tool we have to keep this virus suppressed and keep up this recovery rate. We know that the vast majority of Irish people understand this, and that they are staying the course with us as we continue to keep case numbers as low as possible.”