Thirteen deaths and 371 new Covid-19 cases reported by Nphet

A further 13 people have died from Covid-19, while the Department of Health has been notified of another 371 confirmed cases of the virus.

There has now been a total of 4,896 Covid-19 related deaths in the Republic, as well as a total of 247,857 confirmed cases.

As of 8am on Wednesday, there were 153 Covid-19 patients in hospital, of which 45 were in intensive care. There have been 17 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours.

As of Sunday, 1,417,942 doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been administered in the Republic. Some 1,014,640 people have received their first dose while 403,302 people have received their second dose.

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The 14 day incidence rate per 100,000 people in the State is 121.2. The highest incidence rate is in Co Donegal where it is 288.3.

Of the deaths notified on Wednesday, three occurred in April, three in March, and seven in February or earlier. The median age of those who died was 85 years and the age range was 60-95 years.

Of the cases notified on Wednesday, 190 are men while 181 are women. Just over three quarters are under 45-years-old. The median age is 28-years-old.

Some 131 cases are in Dublin, while there are 38 in Kildare; 33 in Donegal; 18 in Cork; and 17 in Meath. The remaining 134 cases are spread across 17 other counties.

A total of 1,417,942 doses of Covid-19 vaccine had been administered in Ireland up to Monday of this week.

Meanwhile, one further death of a patient who had previously tested positive for Covid-19 was announced in Northern Ireland on Wednesday, along with 98 new cases of the virus.

On Wednesday morning, there were 60 Covid-19 inpatients in hospital, with eight classified as intensive care patients.

Meanwhile, Northern Ireland is to provide three oxygen generation units to India, Stormont’s Health Minister has announced.

The units are being transported to India as part of the UK-wide response to the escalating Covid crisis in the country.

The units were procured as part of the region’s own response to the Covid emergency.

They were not ultimately required in Northern Ireland hospitals. Announcing the decision to send the units to India, the North’s Health Minister Robin Swann said he hoped they would help save lives.

“A humanitarian crisis is unfolding and providing support is undoubtedly the right thing to do,” he said.

“Oxygen supply is under severe stress in India’s health system. “The oxygen generation units are each capable of providing 500 litres of oxygen per minute and I sincerely hope these units can help save lives.”

Ahead of their dispatch, the minister visited the storage facility that houses the units at Musgrave Park Hospital in Belfast.

“The scenes in India are a vivid reminder of the destructiveness of the virus,” he added.

“We must never lose sight of the damage it is capable of inflicting.” Funded by the Department of Health, oxygen generation component parts were bought by the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust on behalf of the region’s health service earlier in the pandemic.

The trust and engineers used the parts to design and assemble a number of containerised oxygen generator plants that could be deployed as an emergency backup supply source for the region’s hospitals.

Further upgrade works have since been undertaken to improve the oxygen storage systems within Northern Ireland’s hospital estate. - Additional reporting PA