One further Covid-19 related death and 765 further cases have been confirmed in the Republic of Ireland today.
There has been a total of 2,205 Covid-19 related deaths in Ireland.
As of midnight Sunday, December 27th the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) has been notified of 765 confirmed cases of Covid-19. There is now a total of 86,894 confirmed coronavirus cases in Ireland.
Of the cases notified today:
- 401 are men/358 are women.
- 70 per cent are under 45 years of age.
- The median age is 33 years old.
- 291 cases are in Dublin, 63 in Cork, 59 in Monaghan, 49 in Louth, 43 in Meath, and the remaining 260 cases are spread across all other counties.
As of 2pm today, 359 Covid-19 patients are being treated in hospital, of which 30 are in ICU. 41 additional Covid-19 cases have been recorded in Irish hospitals in the past 24 hours, with five additional admissions to ICU.
Chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan said: “The data we are reporting today are lower than days up to December 26th. This however results from factors related to the time of the year, such as the lower rates of attendance and referrals and presentation for testing for several days over Christmas.
“We look at many metrics when monitoring the disease severity of Covid-19. Today we are reporting that we have now exceeded the cumulative number of people hospitalised in this third wave than in the second. Hospitalisations have increased sharply in the last two days. This is a concerning trend which reflects the sharp increase incidence we saw in the last 10 days.”
He added: “We are also seeing a steep rise in the positivity rates in community testing with a seven-day average of over 9.2 per cent up from 5.2 per cent on December 18th. This indicates that the virus is increasing its foothold out in our communities. This is just one more reason why we are strongly advising everyone to stay safely at home to avoid transmitting or catching this virus, as it continues to circulate widely.
“Please come forward for testing if you feel unwell. Know the symptoms of Covid-19, and do not delay in phoning your GP for advice. Self-isolate in your room if you have a cough, fever, shortness of breath or change in sense of taste/smell. If you are a household contact of a confirmed case you should restrict your movements for 14 days even if your own test is reported as Covid 'not detected'.”
The department of health in Northern Ireland has confirmed 1,634 new cases of Covid-19 over the past two days.
There were 20 deaths related to Covid-19 in the same 48-hour period.
It comes as the region’s health minister has urged the public to strictly adhere to its new lockdown measures.
Robin Swann called on everyone to “play their part” during the next six weeks, which he described as a “crucial period” in the pandemic.
“A New Year’s Eve house party would not just be against the law. It could be a super-spreader event, could leave people very seriously ill and could even cost lives,” he said.
