Ireland is in the grip of a fourth coronavirus wave, with every county in the State now recording an infection rate of at least 1,000 cases per 100,000 people.
The average incidence in the Republic has risen to 1,267 cases per 100,000 – equivalent to about one in every 80 people contracting the disease over the last two weeks.
Westmeath is the county with the highest 14-day infection rate at 1,792 cases per 100,000. Wicklow has the lowest rate, at 1,004 cases.
The Mid Ulster council district is the worst hit area in the North, reporting a 14-day incidence rate of 1,610 cases per 100,000.
The region with the lowest infection rate on the island is the Derry City and Strabane district, at 859 per 100,000.
The positivity rate among people tested for Covid in the Republic now stands at 15.4 per cent. The World Health Organisation recommends the rate should remain below 5 per cent.
More than 209,000 tests were carried out in the State over the past seven days.
There are 638 patients in hospital with the disease, including 130 in intensive care units, as of 11am on Tuesday.
Hospital cancellations
Concerns have grown in recent days about the rising number of Covid patients and the impact on the health service. Some hospitals have switched to surge capacity and cancelled scheduled surgeries.
Speaking in the Dáil on Tuesday, Mary Lou McDonald accused the Government of being “a day late and a dollar short” on hospital capacity.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin defended efforts to bolster intensive care beds, promising at least 340 by the end of next year.
Meanwhile, an intensive care consultant warned some areas of healthcare will have to shut down if Covid continues to surge.
Dr Catherine Motherway said that medics will continue to try to treat patients, but they may not have the same level of care “as in peacetime”.
“This is wartime,” she told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland on Tuesday.
