Cavan has amongst the lowest rates in the country

County Cavan has amongst the lowest rates of COVID-19 across the country, the latest figures published tonight show. The news was a faint silver lining amongst the cloud of 74 new confirmed cases, as revealed by the National Public Health Emergency Team. 
That brings the figure to 366 of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the Republic.

 

Breakdown
As of midnight on Monday, March 16 - there were 271 cases, and it was this sample size on which the authorities conducted an analysis. That showed that Dublin has the highest number of cases at 129, followed by Cork (48) and Limerick (14). Fifteen of the 26 counties in the Republic have five or less confirmed cases. County Cavan and all of its bordering counties in the south had five or less cases, except for Westmeath, which had seven.

One in five cases are healthcare workers with 37% of these cases associated with travel.
Of the 271 cases notified 40% are male and 59% female, with 23 clusters. Two thirds of cases are younger than 55 years, with almost one in four cases aged 35 – 44 years.

 

Importance
Dr Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer in the Department of Health, said: “Again, today we are seeing another increase in case numbers. The importance of social distancing cannot be underestimated. Everyone must play their role.
 “We need to continue maximising our efforts to interrupt new transmission chains and keep clusters under control.
“Reduce your social contacts to those in your closest family network. Practice social distancing. Stop shaking hands and hugging when you say hello.”