SURGE FALL
Monaghan town and Enniscorthy top Covid-19 hotspots with over 1k cases per 100k as rates fall slightly nationwide
Updated: 5 Feb 2021, 12:08
CARRICKMACROSS-Castleblayney in Co Monaghan is the top Covid-19 hotspot in Ireland, with over double the national rate of cases per 100,000 people in the last two weeks.
Virus rates remain high in towns such as Enniscorthy, Co Wexford and Blanchardstown in Dublin, but have fallen slightly in the last seven days.
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The national 14-day incidence rate stands at 455 per 100,000 of the populationCredit: Department of Health
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Enniscorthy holds the second highest rate in Ireland despite falling by nearly 600 in the last weekCredit: Department of Health
Covid-19: Robin Swann says NI s infection rate still too high
Published
image captionHealth Minister Robin Swann says infection rates remain too high
Covid-19 infection rates in Northern Ireland are continuing to fall but they are still too high , Health Minister Robin Swann has warned.
He urged people to keep following lockdown rules, in order to help give the health service breathing space .
The public should not slip up now - there are no shortcuts out of this, he added.
Mr Swann s comments came as a further 11 coronavirus-related deaths were recorded by the Department of Health in Northern Ireland.
Its coronavirus death toll now stands at 1,889.
Health Correspondent
The Health Service Executive has said its advice is that people over 70 should get the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines, rather than the AstraZeneca vaccine.
The first of the 400,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine are due to arrive in Ireland next week.
They were expected to be used by GPs to begin vaccinating older people in mid-February, starting with those aged over 85.
It is easier to handle as it does not need to be kept in very cold conditions.
The AstraZeneca vaccine will now be reserved for younger people.
HSE Chief Clinical Officer Dr Colm Henry told RTÉ s News at One the view is that the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines afford greater protection for older people.
TheJournal.ie brings you the five biggest stories of the day.
1. #VACCINATION: Older people will be “preferentially” given the mRNA Covid-19 vaccines – from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna – rather than the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, the HSE’s Chief Clinical Officer Dr Colm Henry has said.
2. #DUBLIN: A woman who was stabbed in the IFSC area in Dublin city on 20 January has died from her injuries.
3. #CHILDREN ACT: A ban on naming a child murder victim once someone has been charged with the offence has been described as “absurd” and unfair on the victim’s families, the Dáil has heard.
4. #IRISH SEA: UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said that his government is considering invoking Article 16 of the Protocol to unilaterally stop Brexit-related checks between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Nearly 14,000 healthcare workers fully vaccinated as doses administered tops 160,000
Frontline healthcare workers have received 89,900 doses, including 76,100 first doses and 13,800 second doses. By Lauren Boland Thursday 28 Jan 2021, 2:46 PM Jan 28th 2021, 2:46 PM 13,134 Views 33 Comments
Image: Shutterstock/SmartPhotoLab
Image: Shutterstock/SmartPhotoLab
MORE THAN 160,000 vaccine doses have now been administered in Ireland, including second doses for 13,800 frontline healthcare workers, according to the Health Minister.
161,500 Covid-19 vaccine doses have been rolled out as of last night in long-term residential care facilities and to frontline healthcare workers.
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly shared figures this afternoon showing that 71,600 doses have been given to those in care facilities, the highest priority