Confirmed cases continue to rise locally as further 44 deaths reported nationally

There have been over 500 confirmed cases in Counties Cavan and Monaghan combined, according to the latest figures released in the last hour. The news comes as a further 44 deaths were reported nationally bringing the total number to have lost their lives to 530. There were also 709 new confirmed cases, bringing the total number of cases in the Republic to 13,980. 
Of the COVID-19 related 44 latest deaths, 33 were located in the east, three in the north west, three in the south and five in the west of the country. 
A summary of all 530 deaths provided by the HPSC shows that 308 (58%) of those who died were male, 222 (42%) were female, the age range is 23-105 years, the median age of those who died is 83, 316 of these cases were admitted to hospital with 45 admitted to ICU.
A breakdown of figures from the latest date available, Wednesday, April 15 (13,012 cases)  reveals that there were 345 confirmed cases in County Cavan (up 35 from the previous day) and 166 in County Monaghan (up five from previous day). Nationally 44% are male and 55% are female, with 436 clusters involving 2,723 cases; the median age of confirmed cases is 48 years; 16% have been hospitalised and of those hospitalised, 294 cases have been admitted to ICU. A final grim figure is that 3,347 cases are associated with healthcare workers.
The National Public Health Emergency Team met today and decided to expand testing capacity to 100,000 tests per week operating on a seven-day week basis for a minimum of six months. They also decided that over the course of the next week to 10 days, testing of staff and residents in all Long-Term Residential Care (LTRC) facilities to be prioritised
A census of mortality across all LTRC facilities to be carried out this weekend to cover all deaths, COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 since January 1 2020, regardless of where the death occurred.
Dr. Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health, said; “At today’s meeting of the National Public Health Emergency Team, we endorsed a proposal to increase testing of staff and residents across all long-term residential care settings including nursing homes. The behaviour of the virus among vulnerable groups who live in these care settings continues to be a concern and this remains a priority for NPHET.”
Dr Colm Henry, Chief Clinical Officer, HSE, said: “Each COVID-19 death reported is a tragedy. This is an incurable illness and while 80% of the population will experience a mild form of the disease, our older and more vulnerable people are at a much greater risk due to the behaviour of this disease within this group.”