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“There will be cases in school aged children”

There have been no new deaths reported to the Health Protection Surveillance Centre today.

There has now been a total of 1,777 Covid-19 related deaths in Ireland.

As of midnight Sunday 23rd August, the HPSC has been notified of 147 confirmed cases of COVID-19. There is now a total of 28,116 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ireland.

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Of the cases notified today;

  • 80 are men / 67 are women
  • 71% are under 45 years of age
  • 60 are confirmed to be associated with outbreaks or are close contacts of a confirmed case
  • 14 cases have been identified as community transmission
  • 73 in Dublin, 17 in Kildare, 12 in Offaly, 11 in Wicklow, 9 in Limerick and the remaining 25 cases are in Carlow, Clare, Cork, Donegal, Galway, Laois, Louth, Meath, Monaghan, Tipperary and Wexford.

The HSE is working to identify any contacts the patients may have had to provide them with information and advice to prevent further spread.

The COVID-19 Dashboard provides up-to-date information on the key indicators of COVID-19 in the community.

Dr. Ronan Glynn, Acting Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health, said; “Evidence from the ECDC and international experience to date suggests that children do not commonly transmit COVID-19 to other children or adults in school settings.

“Internationally, where schools have been reopened, schools have not been a significant driver of community transmission.

“We all have a role to play in keeping this virus at low levels – this is key to protecting our education system over the coming weeks.”

Dr. Cillian DeGascun, Director of the National Virus Reference Laboratory, said: “We know that children can get multiple respiratory tract infections over the winter period and as a result could require repeated swab tests. Therefore, NPHET, HSE and NVRL are continuing to assess alternative testing methods for children.”

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Dr Siobhán Ni Bhriain, Consultant Psychiatrist and Integrated Care Lead HSE, said; “There will be cases in school aged children just as there have been throughout the pandemic. When these occur, our public health teams will lead the response to limit further transmission- as has been the case in other settings throughout this pandemic.”

Dr. Mary Favier, President of the Irish College of General Practitioners, said; “Parents should remain vigilant around symptoms and keep their children isolated at home if they are experiencing fever, cough, shortness of breath, flu like symptoms, loss of taste or smell. Parents should also remain aware of asymptomatic transmission – like some adults, children may not present symptoms but can still carry the virus. If you have vulnerable people in your limited network, ensure physical distancing is adhered to and encourage regular hand washing habits with your child.”

 

Cases by county

Note: The Health Protection Surveillance Centre have advised that in the process of validating data and reviewing addresses, county totals may change due to cases being reassigned to another county. Totals can go up or down.

County Number of cases % of total Change since the day before
Carlow 220 0.8 No change
Cavan 883 3.2 No change
Clare 443 1.6 No change
Cork 1,614 5.8 +2
Donegal 512 1.8 No change
Dublin 13,007 46.5 +39
Galway 509 1.8 No change
Kerry 326 1.2 +1
Kildare 2,174 7.8 +13
Kilkenny 394 1.4 No change
Laois 373 1.3 +3
Leitrim 85 0.3 No change
Limerick 697 2.5 +1
Longford 292 1 +1
Louth 816 2.9 No change
Mayo 587 2.1 No change
Meath 878 3.1 No change
Monaghan 552 2 No change
Offaly 607 2.2 No change
Roscommon 353 1.3 No change
Sligo 156 0.6 No change
Tipperary 637 2.3 No change
Waterford 181 0.7 No change
Westmeath 684 2.5 No change
Wexford 265 1 No change
Wicklow 724 2.6 +1

*All statistics measured at midnight on Saturday 22 August.

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