Death toll from coronavirus reaches 2,036 after latest fatalities

A further 335 Covid-19 cases and three deaths from the disease have been reported by the National Public Health Emergency Team.

This brings to 2,036 the total number of deaths in the State linked to the coronavirus and the total number of confirmed cases to 71,494.

Of the new cases, there were in 119 in Dublin, 29 in Kilkenny, 23 in Limerick, 20 in Donegal, 19 in Tipperary and 19 in Cork, with the remainder spread across 19 counties.

The median age of the new cases was 35 years and 64 per cent of infections were in people aged under 45.

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The 14-day incidence of the disease in the State now stands at 103.9 cases per 100,000 people. Donegal has the highest incidence at 218 cases per 100,000, followed by Louth at 201.7, while Wexford had the lowest incidence at 36.7.

The reproductive number stands at 0.7-0.9, HSE chief clinical officer Dr Colm Henry told a briefing on Thursday.

Situations in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland’s Department of Health reported eight Covid-19 related deaths and 442 cases in the previous 24 hours. The death toll in the North now stands at 962 and there have been 51,118 confirmed cases to date.

The overall seven-day Covid incidence for the North is 130 cases per 100,000 of population and the number of cases linked to each confirmed infection stands at just below one.

First Minister Arlene Foster said a special taskforce is planning a mass vaccination of the population against Covid-19.

Ahead of an intensified two-week period of lockdown, Ms Foster said the North, which has a population of about 1.8 million, would receive about 4 million doses of the vaccines, when they are authorised.

Roll-out would be over several phases, starting with care-home residents and staff, health and social care workers and people aged over 80.

Minister for Health Robin Swann added: “While I am cautious by nature, I am optimistic that vaccination will increasingly do the heavy lifting for us in 2021 in the battle against coronavirus.”