COVID-19: Irish healthcare workers, psychiatric patients die

Two Kilkenny healthcare works and nine Laois psychiatric residents are among those who have died since last week from the COVID-19 virus.

These eleven deaths were reported since the Easter Bank holiday weekend. The two healthcare workers in Kilkenny have died in the last 24 hours. Since the outbreak of coronavirus 44 days ago, 12, 547 cases have been recorded in the Republic of Ireland. So far, there have been 444 deaths and 77 recoveries.

Two healthcare workers at St Luke’s General Hospital for Carlow Kilkenny have died after testing positive for coronavirus on Wednesday night. Of the 12,547 coronavirus cases confirmed in the Republic of Ireland to date, 2,872 cases are associated with healthcare workers. These deaths bring the number of healthcare workers who have died to three.

A spokesperson for the Ireland East Hospital Group issued the following statement: “I can confirm that two healthcare workers from St Luke’s General Hospital Carlow Kilkenny have passed away, having tested positive for COVID-19. We wish to extend our sincere condolences to their family friends and colleagues. We have no further comment to make at this time.”

Three health care workers are among those who have died in Ireland so far.

The Irish Times reports that the two victims were a woman in her 50s and a man in his 40s both fell ill while working at St. Luke's. The woman was a household staff at the household while the man was a healthcare assistant.

They had both tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. The woman died in hospital on Wednesday while the man died at home on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, RTE reported that nine residents at the Maryborough Centre, St. Fintan's Hospital, Portlaoise, County Laois, had died over the Easter bank holiday weekend.

Eight of those who died were residents at the center, aged between 66 and 84 years who had tested positive for COVID-19. There remaining 17 residents are being managed as though they have the virus the Health Service Executive said.

On Wednesday evening it was reported by the Irish National Public Health Emergency Team that another 38 people had died from the coronavirus. This brings the total number of deaths in the past 44 days to 444. The youngest of those to have died in Ireland was 23-years-old.

Also over 200 virus clusters have been identified at nursing homes and residential institutions. So far 245 people have died in care homes.

Dr. Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer.

Dr. Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health, said: “We are continuing to monitor the course of this disease across a range of indicators – not only in the number of confirmed cases and deaths reported but also through hospital and ICU admissions, clusters and patterns of transmission.

“While a number of these parameters are going in a positive direction, it is clear that we need to keep going in our efforts, on an individual level, to limit the spread of this virus.”