13 further Covid-19 related deaths and 738 additional cases have been confirmed in the Republic of Ireland.
10 of these deaths occurred in February, one occurred in January, one occurred in October and one date of death remains under investigation.
The median age of those who died was 81 years and the age range was 55 - 92 years.
There has now been a total of 4,313 Covid-19 related deaths in Ireland.
As of midnight, Friday, February 26th the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) has been notified of 738 confirmed cases of Covid-19.
There is now a total of 218,980 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Ireland.
Of the cases notified today:
- 356 are men/378 are women.
- 71 per cent are under 45 years of age.
- The median age is 32.
- 311 in Dublin, 54 in Limerick, 36 in Cork, 34 in Offaly, 33 in Donegal and the remaining 270 cases are spread across 20 other counties.
As of 8am today, 550 Covid-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 135 are in ICU. 27 additional Covid-19 cases have been recorded in Irish hospitals in the past 24 hours.
As of February 24th, 391,355 doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been administered in Ireland:
- 254,948 people have received their first dose.
- 136,407 people have received their second dose.
Meanwhile, hundreds of people gathered for an anti-lockdown protest in Dublin city centre today, a number of people were arrested as fireworks and other objects were thrown at gardaí.
Minister for Higher Education Simon Harris said: “Pure thuggery on the streets of Dublin today. It’s not a 'protest'. It’s an attack on our national effort. The abuse directed at the Gardai is sickening & shameful. Disgraceful. Thoughts with the Gardai and their families.”
Protesters clashed with gardaí as they marched up Grafton Street towards St Stephen's Green, which had been closed by gardaí in advance of the 2pm protest.
Fine Gael TD Neale Richmond slammed the violent scenes.
“From the outset, this protest was ill-advised, fuelled by conspiracy theories and championed by individuals seeking to manipulate the genuine fears of many vulnerable individuals,” he said.
