A FURTHER 1,167 new cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed in Ireland, the Department of Health has said this evening.

In a statement, it said that a further three people confirmed to have Covid-19 have died.

The total number of people who have contracted Covid-19 and died in Ireland is 1,868, and the total number of cases is now at 53,422*.

Of the cases notified today:

• 538 are men, and 627 are women
• 64% are under 45 years of age
• The median age is 33 years old
• 263 in Dublin, 142 in Meath, 137 in Cork, 86 in Cavan and the remaining 539 cases are spread across all remaining counties.

As of 2pm today, 314 Covid-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 34 are in ICU. There have been 27 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours.

Over 112,000 tests have been completed in the last seven days, with 16,583 in the last 24 hours. There is a test positivity rate of 7.1% over the last seven days, which compares to an overall positivity rate of 3.9%.

The 14-day incidence rate by county, as of midnight yesterday, is:

Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan said: “The behaviour of every individual is the most effective defence we have against the spread of Covid-19.

“Everyone needs to stay at home, other than for essential reasons. Follow the public health advice and treat everyone that you come into contact with as though they are a close contact of someone with Covid-19 – keep your distance, avoid meeting others.

We are facing a big challenge, but we have faced this challenge before, and that means we know how to suppress this virus, by following the public health advice in everything we do.

From midnight tonight, the country will be placed under Level 5 restrictions.

Non-essential retail and services will shut, while people are being advised not to go beyond 5km from their home except for essential reasons.

*Validation of data at the HPSC has resulted in the denotification of one confirmed case. The figure of 53,422 confirmed cases reflects this.