COVID-19: 6110 new cases and 6 deaths confirmed in Ireland; Health department says virus spread rate will increase further

DUBLIN: The Department of Health yesterday confirmed 6110 new COVID-19 cases in Ireland. The death toll is fortunately low, at just six.

Of the 6110 new cases, 3,655 cases were confirmed in Dublin, 323 in Kildare, 291 in Cork, 234 in Limerick and 137 in Louth. The remaining 1,470 cases spread across all other counties.

The Department of Health warns that 7,000 new COVID-19 cases will be reported every day in the coming week.

HSE Director-General Paul Reid warned that HSE care could fall below standard this week, as there is a 20% daily increase in COVID-19 in hospitals.

Ireland is getting into a very serious situation as the number of patients in hospitals exceeds along with the rise in COVID-19 cases.

At least 1,500-2,000 people will be admitted to the hospital by next week, with the number of patients in the ICU expected to increase from 250 to 430, indicating that even the hospital bed may be in short supply, according to health officials.

The government plans to set aside all non-urgent hospital cases and treat patients with critically ill COVID-19.

The fact that COVID-19 has infected 583 people per million in Ireland over the past 14 days shows just how devastating the spread of the virus is in the country.