The number of people being treated for Covid-19 in hospital has gone down, as the HSE chief offers a ray of hope in the fight against the virus.
Latest figures from public health officials show there are 295 patients in hospital with Covid-19, of which 37 are in intensive care.
The figures, from this morning, represent a drop from 312 on Saturday.
And according to the latest figures from the HSE’s Health Protection Surveillance Centre, 369 people were hospitalised with Covid between October 10th and October 23.
This represented 2.56% of the people who contracted Covid during that time.
Of these, 20 people, or 0.14%, were admitted to an Intensive Care Unit.
Of the 14,424 people who had the coronavirus during this two-week period, 19 died, representing 0.13%.
Earlier this month, the number of people being diagnosed with Covid-19 rose above 1,000 per day. On a number of occasions, more than 1,200 new cases per day were being reported.
This compares with the figure from June 28th, when there were just four cases reported that day, the lowest number throughout the pandemic.
But while figures over this weekend remain high, they have fallen significantly over the past few days.
The rate of infection continues to vary widely across the country.
The highest rates of the virus are in counties Cavan, Meath and Westmeath, while much lower rates have been reported in Tipperary, Kilkenny and Wicklow.
Across the country, the 14-day incidence rate of the virus per 100,000 people is just under 303.
The median age of people diagnosed with Covid-19 is 35, while a full 62% of those diagnosed are under the age of 45.
And as the number of cases and those in hospital continue to drop, the HSE CEO Paul Reid offered a ray of hope in relation to positivity rates.
He said that the percentage of people testing positive for Covid-19 is continuing to decline.
Mr Reid also praised members of the public for reducing the number of people they’ve been socialising with.
Each person is now having an average of just three close contacts.
Everyone’s efforts to reduce the number of social contacts is seeming to work, as the positivity rate for the virus has gone down over the last eight days.
In a post on Twitter, Mr Reid said: “The positivity rate in testing has now come down over the past eight days.
“The number of close contacts is now down to an average of three.
“Most close contacts are households. Still very early but good.”
He encouraged everyone to continue to play their part and take responsibility for stopping the spread of the virus.
Mr Reid added: “We’re all part of the solution. Let’s keep this going.”
