Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
National
Sam Roberts

Coronavirus Ireland: Clare and Offaly 'virus free' after going five weeks without a new case

Clare and Offaly are 'coronavirus free' after going five weeks without a confirmed case, new statistics reveal.

Meanwhile, Longford and Laois have both gone four weeks in a row without a single new infection.

The findings were released in the latest Covid-19 update from the Central Statistics Office.

In the week ending on July 17, Clare, Kerry, Kilkenny, Laois, Longford, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo, Tipperary, Waterford and Westmeath all reported zero new cases.

Dublin remains the epicentre of the outbreak in Ireland, accounting for 51% of all confirmed deaths here.

The report also shows that younger people are getting infected, with the median age of all confirmed cases in the week ending on July 17 standing at 35.

While women between the ages of 25-44 currently account for the highest numbers of confirmed cases.

The mortality rate of the disease now stands at 58 per 1,000 confirmed cases, significantly down from the peak of 73 in April.

A total of 1,419 deaths in Ireland have been in people with underlying conditions, the median age of whom is 83.

Chronic heart disease is the most common condition, and was present in 44% of deaths.

It comes after Acting Chief Medical Officer Dr Ronan Glynn thanked the Irish people for their efforts in fighting the spread of the virus.

He said last night: “Two weeks ago, we expressed our concerns about worrying trends in the progression of Covid-19 in Ireland.

Dr Ronan Glynn, Acting Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health (Collins)

"Collectively, people in Ireland responded to this call for action and together have broken chains of transmission.

"This is a further demonstration of the power of people working together and rising to the continued challenge of this unprecedented pandemic. What we need now is to hold firm and keep up the good work.

“I believe we can maintain the important progress we have made together, but only if we continue to heed the public health advice -  physical distance of 2m between one another, frequent hand washing, wearing a face covering where appropriate and cough/sneeze hygiene.”

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.