Ireland has contained and effectively suppressed the first wave of the coronavirus outbreak in the population at large but not in nursing homes where its spread remains a concern, the country’s chief medical officer said on Thursday.
The assessment raised hopes that stay-at-home restrictions can be gradually eased from May 5. Acting Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said earlier on Thursday that he hoped to set out a roadmap on how they could be eased before the May 5 expiry.
Ireland reported 724 new cases to bring its total to 13,271 with 486 deaths, but officials said the growth rate in new cases has been close to zero since April 3 and the closely watched reproductive rate, or the number of people who become infected from each positive case, fell to between 0.7 and 1.
Nursing homes account for 253 of the 486 coronavirus-related deaths, with 49 more fatalities associated with other care homes or community facilities. There are clusters of two or more cases in 163 of the country’s 550 retirement homes.
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