A FURTHER 23 people in Kerry have been diagnosed with Covid-19 infection on the past 24 hours.
It brings the number of people in the county known to have been infected since last March to 1,197 with 264 diagnosed in the past fortnight.
The Kerry cases were among 335 confirmed nationwide which brings the total number of known infections to 64,855.
A further five Covid-19 related deaths have been recorded and that brings the total number of fatalities since last March to 1,945.
284 patients with the virus were in hospital this afternoon with 40 bring treated in intensive care. There have been 23 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours.
With 23 cases, Kerry was one of the worst hit counties when the latest update was released by senior public health officials this Saturday.
There were 72 in Dublin, 41 in Donegal, 26 in Mayo and 25 in Cork with the remaining 148 cases spread across 19 other counties.
Of today’s cases, 177 are female, 155 are male and 64 per cent are under the age of 45. The median age of those infected is 37.
Department of Health Chief Medical Officer, Dr Tony Holohan, said the commitment to the spirit of the public health advice shown by people is to be commended.
“This includes wearing a face mask where social distancing is difficult, in shops and on public transport. However, it is also vital that they are worn correctly and safely, fully covering both the mouth and nose with the face mask,” he said.
Dr Holohan also stressed that visors do not offer the same benefits as face masks.
“I want to particularly highlight that it is very important that those who work in settings such as retail avoid the use of visors and instead use face masks. Face masks offer far better protection, and they should be worn by everyone who can wear them,” he said.
“Wearing one prevents someone who does not know they have Covid-19 from spreading it to another person,” he added.
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