Teenager is the youngest person to die as a result of Covid in Ireland

We're thinking of their family during this devastating time

A teenager has become the youngest person to die as a result of Covid-19 in the Republic. The 14-year-old's untimely passing was recorded last week, November 3rd to November 9th. 25 people died in that week, the latest Health Surveillance Protection Centre figures found. The teenager is one of 6 people under the age of 25 who have sadly died as a result of the virus. 5,566 Covid related-deaths have been recorded in the State since the beginning of the pandemic. 91% of the deceased were over 65. 41.3% were over the age of 85. The news of the 14-year-old's harrowing death comes after 3,680 new cases were confirmed last night. NPHET has expressed their concerns about the rising cases numbers. Dr. Tony Holohan has yet again asked the public to follow the Covid-19 measures. He has also encouraged the Irish public to reduce their social contacts as we get closer to the Christmas season. It is believed the stark rise in socialising is one of the main factors in the current increase in Covid infections. “If you’re planning to go out two nights a week, maybe just go out once. If you’re planning to have 10 people over to the house for a particular event, maybe just have five,” the CMO recommended. Despite NPHET's major concerns, An Taoiseach has stressed that there are no plans for the country to return to lockdown before Christmas. He stated that Ireland is in a far greater position than it was last Christmas. He told Today FM's Dermot and Dave, "I don’t see Christmas lockdowns but we may have to imaginatively look at how we behave and manage events and so on like that." "If we didn’t have vaccination now, we’d be in lockdown because of the highly transmissible Delta variant," he added.