The Department of Health has confirmed a further two Covid-19 related deaths and 542 additional cases in the Republic of Ireland.
There has now been a total of 1,947 Covid-19 related deaths in Ireland along with a total of 65,394 confirmed cases.
Of the cases confirmed today:
- 277 are men / 264 are women
- 64% are under 45 years of age
- The median age is 35 years old
- 181 cases are in Dublin, 59 in Donegal, 50 in Limerick, 36 in Cork, 25 in Kildare, and the remaining 191 cases are spread across 20 other counties.
As of 2pm today, 283 Covid-19 patients are being treated in hospital, of which 39 are in ICU. 13 additional Covid-19 patients have been confirmed in Irish hospitals in the last 24 hours.
Meanwhile, the Government has been criticised for a lack of clarity on what pandemic restrictions will apply at Christmas.
Professor Philip Nolan, a leading member of the public health advice team Nphet, warned on Sunday that strict limits will be needed on Christmas get-togethers.
Junior Minister Robert Troy failed to provide any clarity when asked about the remarks, saying the situation would be kept “under review”.
Sinn Féin TD Kathleen Funchion told RTE’s The Week In Politics that the Government had to provide more clarity to allow people to plan for the festive season.
She said: “People were told for the last number of weeks that they had to go into Level 5 to sort of save Christmas. Now we’re seeing that it’s going to be very restricted anyway.
“I think the vast majority of people understand that the regulations are in place for a reason and want to follow them.
“But there does need to be a lot more in terms of planning and telling people what exactly it’s going to look like if they are going to restrict people in relation to Christmas and Christmas visits.”
