A FURTHER 18 people have passed away after contracting coronavirus in the Republic of Ireland, the Department of Health have confirmed.
The Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HSPC) yesterday reported a further 18 deaths related to Covid-19 in Ireland, with their sad passing bringing Ireland's total number of confirmed deaths to 1,102, after 3 earlier cases were denotified.
At a press briefing yesterday, 27 April, the Department of Health announced that 386 new cases were also confirmed, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the Republic of Ireland to 19,648.
The HSE is working rapidly to identify any close contacts the newly confirmed cases may have had, in order to advise them and further slow the spread of the virus.
The new figures are a significant drop from earlier in the week, however Dr Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer for the Department of Health, said "improvements are still needed" before any major changes to social distancing restrictions are allowed.
"We have always made it clear that there are certain things that we need to be satisfied with prior to recommending any change in current restrictions," he said yesterday.
Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan Photo: Sam Boal/RollingNews.ie"The most important one is that the incidence rate of the virus needs to be as low as possible in terms its transmission in the community and within community and residential settings. In addition, the impact of the disease on rates of mortality and hospitalisations including admissions to intensive care units also needs to be at a very low level."
Dr Siobhán Ní Bhriain, Consultant Psychiatrist and HSE Integrated Care Lead, said:
