These are early days to be crunching the numbers on cases, just three weeks after the first one occurred, it has to be stressed. This is because the more tests we carry out – and more testing is a good thing – the more Covid-19 we will find. Translating this figure on to the forecast of 15,000 cases would mean a requirement for 750 intensive care beds by the end of the month. The low numbers of deaths and intensive care cases are clearly influenced by the age cohorts affected; almost one-third of cases is among under-35s, and two-thirds among under-55s. We will know we are succeeding when we manage to keep as many possible out of intensive care and to minimise the number of deaths from this virus.

Source: The Irish Times March 19, 2020 18:35 UTC