There was a marked drop in the mortality and hospitalisation rates linked to Covid-19 from the springtime surge of the disease to recent months, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
A new CSO analysis found the average mortality rate of the disease in August, September and October was five people per 1,000 confirmed cases — down from a peak of 74 in April.
The average hospitalisation rate over the same period was less than 50 people per 1,000 confirmed cases, also down from a peak of 192 in March.
On average, five people or less per 1,000 confirmed cases were admitted to ICU in recent months, down from a peak of 27 per 1,000 in March.
The median age of Covid-19 related deaths has remained relatively stable throughout the duration of the pandemic, at approximately 83 years.
Fluctuating
The latest CSO data on Covid-19 deaths and cases ranges from February 28th to November 13th 2020, tracking the trends behind the daily figures and aiming to “provide unique, over-arching analysis of how the virus is moving through our communities.”
Analysts use epidemiological dates for cases and the actual date of death for deaths — rather than the reported dates — giving a clearer indication of when infections and deaths actually took place.
In the latest bulletin, the CSO found that while the number of confirmed cases has been fluctuating from August through to October - from a low of 623 cases in the week ending August 7th to a high of 7,025 in the week ending October 16th - hospitalisation, ICU and mortality rates have remained stable.
Overall, there have been 1,605 deaths of people with underlying conditions from 17,136 confirmed cases with underlying conditions. Of the 127 deaths in the 25 to 64 age group, 116 had underlying conditions.
In terms of underlying conditions, chronic heart disease was present in 44 per cent of deaths.
Recent trends
Recent trends have seen more than 20 people die from Covid-19 in Ireland in each of the last five weeks, with Dublin continuing to be worst affected.
From the outset of the pandemic to recent months, the overall mortality rate of Covid-19 in Ireland has been 25 per 1,000 confirmed cases.
Just over half of all confirmed cases are linked to an outbreak. Outbreaks in private houses account for more than half of cases linked to an outbreak in the last four weeks.
Nursing homes account for 10 per cent, while childcare facilities and schools together account for eight per cent of cases.
The average number of contacts per positive case per week was three in the week ending November 13th, down from six contacts per case six weeks ago.
The full CSO data analysis is available on the CSO website.
