Antigen tests continue to identify the majority of new Covid-19 cases in Ireland, with a total of 11,682 logged on Thursday.
4,065 of the cases were confirmed by PCR test, while 7,617 people registered a positive antigen test result through the HSE portal.
As of this morning, there were 877 Covid-19 patients in hospital, with 41 in intensive care.
It continues an upwards trend seen since the weekend, when hospitalisations rose sharply from 670 on Friday to 808 by Monday, however, intensive care numbers have remained largely stable.
The growing number of cases identified through antigen testing is not unexpected amid the scaling-back of the test and trace system.
The Department of Health has previously cautioned that self-registered antigen test results are not directly comparable with cases confirmed by PCR test.
Meanwhile, a further 2,602 cases of the virus were notified in the last 24-hour reporting period in Northern Ireland.
Four more people who had previously tested positive for Covid-19 have died in the region, where there are 483 Covid-19 patients in hospital, including one in intensive care.
