A total of 1,543 people have died of Covid-19 in nursing homes, with 369 of those having occurred in the month of January. Those involved in the running of nursing homes are before the Oireachtas Health Committee this morning.
There was a five-fold increase in the number of outbreaks in nursing homes from mid-December to the end of January. The number jumped from 34 to 193 in that time.
However, 40% of nursing homes remained free of Covid-19. Representatives from the HSE, Department of Health and Nursing Homes Ireland, are before the Committee this morning.
They are to tell TDs and Senators that, at present, there are approximately 2,000 nursing home staff on leave due to Covid-19 outbreaks in over 100 facilities.