BREAKING: Number of Covid-19 cases in Limerick fall due to 'reclassification'

THE NUMBER of confirmed Covid-19 cases in Limerick has fallen by 17, it was revealed this Thursday evening.

The total in the county on Wednesday was 591. Tonight, the figure is 574, according to the Covid-19 Health Surveillance Monitor (Ireland).

The Limerick Leader contacted both the Department of Health and the HSE to explain the drop.

A HSE spokesperson said: "There was a reclassification of figures for Limerick as a number of addresses have been allocated to Clare figures, having previously been classified as Limerick. This resulted in today's decrease in Limerick total."

Nationally, the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) has today been informed that a total of 29 people with Covid-19 have died. There have now been a total 1,403 Covid-19 related deaths in Ireland.

As of 11am, this Thursday, the HPSC has been notified of 137 new confirmed cases of Covid-19. There is now a total of 22,385 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Ireland.

Dr Tony Holohan, chief medical officer, Department of Health, said the reproduction number is between 0.5-0.6.

"We have achieved our goal of suppressing the spread of the disease, it was not easy for anyone but there is no question that our collective effort has saved lives.

“Now we look to the pattern of Covid-19 going forward, as we attempt to ease restrictions. These weeks are just as important as the first weeks of our response. Our behaviours are crucial in maintaining our progress and keeping the reproduction number below 1,” said Mr Holohan.

Professor Philip Nolan, chair of the NPHET Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group, said: "The number of ICU admissions, new cases and deaths is now falling and has been for over a week. This is driven by a reduction of transmission of the virus in the community and reinforces the importance of our behaviours going forward.”

Today’s data from the HPSC, as of midnight, Tuesday, May 5 (22,186 cases), reveals:

57% are female and 43% are male. The median age of confirmed cases is 49 years.

2,891 cases (13%) have been hospitalised. Of those hospitalised, 376 cases have been admitted to ICU.

6,498 cases are associated with healthcare workers.

Dublin has the highest number of cases at 10,840 (49% of all cases) followed by Kildare with 1,302 cases (6%) and then Cork with 1,197 cases (5%).

Of those for whom transmission status is known: community transmission accounts for 62%, close contact accounts for 35%, travel abroad accounts for 3%.