LATEST: 467 new cases of virus confirmed as HSE confirms 520 patients’ data leaked online

A further 436 new cases of Covid-19 were confirmed this evening while numbers in hospitals across the country rose slightly.

The Department of Health reported 99 people are being treated for the virus in hospitals, down two on yesterday’s figures.

38 people are now being treated in Intensive Care Units, down one on yesterday’s figure.

However, the department warned the number of cases may change due to future data validation amid the disruption caused by the cyber attack on the HSE’s system.

The HSE also confirmed this afternoon that the data of 520 patients emerged online following the cyberattack on its computer systems a fortnight ago.

A statement released by the HSE said: “Recently a news publication wrote a story saying they had seen HSE data that had been illegally accessed.

“We informed the publication of the court order we obtained in relation to this matter last week and asked them to supply it to us, and they agreed.

“We have examined it and can confirm it is HSE data relating to approx 520 patients, as well as some corporate documents. The data includes sensitive patient data, minutes of meetings and correspondence with patients.

“The HSE’s Data Protection Office has followed the appropriate procedures, including notifying the relevant health service providers and the Data Protection Commission.

“The process of notifying the patients involved has commenced. This will involve some further analysis of the data, and we will do this as quickly as possible.

“This data was the initial small tranche of data that was previously reported on, and we are not aware of any further attempted publication,” the statement concluded.