One in four people now contracting Covid-19 are asymptomatic, according to new data.

The latest release from Central Statistics Office (CSO) insight bulletin has reported that such asymptomatic cases have continued to increase over the last five weeks, rising from 17 per cent to 26 per cent.

Data for the week ending March 5th, also shows that 114 health care workers were diagnosed with the virus, the lowest weekly figure since the end of August.

Hospital Report

Other positive developments outlined in the week include that the number of cases was 2,843, a decrease of 1,245 cases from the previous week, or a fall of almost one third.

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Hospitalisations have also been decreasing since the week ending January 15th, falling from a peak of 1,376 to 173.

Intensive care unit (ICU) admissions have been decreasing since the week ending January 8th from 130 to less than five.

The most recent weekly analysis shows that 86 per cent of the 51 deaths were in those aged 65 years and older. However, the percentage of cases in that age group has been decreasing over the last five weeks from 18 per cent to 8 per cent.

Number of contacts

The average number of contacts per positive case per week was three, a marked reduction from six in late December.

Dublin has the highest average contacts rate at almost four per positive case and in the week under review, it accounted for 1,272 (45 per cent) of all new cases.

Of the deaths recorded, 11 were in Dublin with the next highest counties being Cork (6) and Donegal (5).

It is the eighth week in a row that Co Leitrim recorded fewer than 50 new cases, the sixth week for Co Roscommon, and the fourth for Co Sligo.

In the last four weeks 4,230 cases have been linked to an outbreak which is defined as cases among two or more people.

Those aged under 24 accounted for 42 per cent of all cases linked to an outbreak during this period. There were 505 cases (12 per cent) linked to workplaces.

A further 432 (10 per cent) were in nursing homes, 189 (4 per cent) in hospitals or a community hospital/long-stay unit and 269 (6 per cent) in residential institutions.

The process of measuring outbreaks is currently taking longer than normal because of disease levels, the CSO data points out, and so the number of those in private homes is considered an underestimate.

“Similarly while every effort is being made to link cases to outbreaks as quickly as possible, there can sometimes be a delay.”

Referrals for testing continued to decrease in the week however there was a small increase, from 5,281 to 5,327, among children up to the age of 14.