Ireland

Nphet reports 26 deaths and 988 new cases of Covid-19

Three deaths and 276 cases recorded in Northern Ireland on Saturday

Gardaí staff a Covid-19 checkpoint outside Terminal 2 at Dublin Airport during the week. Photograph: Colin Keegan/Collins Dublin

Sat Feb 20 2021 - 18:04

A further 26 deaths and 988 new cases of Covid-19 have been reported by the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) this evening.

Twenty-four of these deaths occurred in February, with one in January and one last October. The median age of those who died was 81 years and the age range was 58-98.

There has been a total of 4,135 Covid-19 related deaths in Ireland to date.

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Hospital Report

As of midnight on Friday, the Health Protection Survelliance Centre (HPSC) has been notified of 988 newly confirmed cases of Covid-19.

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There is now a total of 214,378 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Ireland.

Earlier, the deaths of another three persons with Covid-19 were reported in Northern Ireland, the North's Department of Health said.

A further 276 individuals have tested positive in the past 24 hours.

Of the new cases notified, 487 are men and 499 are women, while 70 per cent are under 45 years of age and the median age is 32.

There were 378 cases in Dublin, 68 in Galway, 61 in Kildare, 47 in Limerick, 45 in Louth and the remaining 389 cases are spread across all other counties.

As of 8am on Saturday, 719 Covid-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 149 are in ICU. There have been 36 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours.

The deaths of another three people with Covid-19 were reported in Northern Ireland, the North’s Department of Health said, and a further 276 people have tested positive in the past 24 hours.

Meanwhile, new data suggests coronavirus infections have been dropping in homes across the UK.

About one in 115 people in private households in England had Covid-19 between February 6th and 12th, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, down from about one in 80 people from January 31st to February 6th. In Northern Ireland, the figure is around one in 105 people, down from one in 75.

A mask-clad man walks past the closed Bridge House Pub in Belfast this week during Northern Ireland’s continued lockdown to curb coronavirus. File photograph: Liam McBurney/PA Wire

The data, which does not cover care homes and hospitals, is based on swab tests from thousands of people regardless of whether or not they have symptoms.

People walk past Pizza Express in Belfast this week during Northern Ireland’s lockdown to curb Covid-19. File photograph: Liam McBurney/PA Wire

Elsewhere, new analysis from Oxford University published in The Lancet confirmed that a single dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine offers 76 per cent protection against Covid-19 from 22 days after vaccination, and that this had not waned by the three-month mark. The UK policy of leaving up to 12 weeks between doses also resulted in a higher efficacy overall, the study found. – PA

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