A FURTHER 1,318 new cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed in Ireland, bringing the total number of cases above 200,000.
In a statement, the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) said that a further 75 people confirmed to have Covid-19 have died.
46 of these deaths occurred in February, 27 occurred in January and two occurred at an earlier date.
The death toll from Covid-19 in Ireland now stands at 3,586, and the total number of confirmed cases is at 200,744.
Of the cases notified today:
As of 2pm today, 1,284 Covid-19 patients were in hospital, of which 188 were in ICU. There have been 74 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours.
The Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan said in the next few weeks, people “will see many more of our vulnerable loved ones receive their Covid-19 vaccinations”.
“This is good news and gives all of us great hope. However, even if you have received your Covid-19 vaccine, you must continue to wash your hands, wear a face covering, maintain a social distance and keep your close contacts to a minimum. Until we have all been vaccinated, we must act as though none of us have been vaccinated,” Dr Holohan said.
It was confirmed yesterday that over 70s will receive mRNA vaccines from Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna “where practicable and timely”.
Dr Ronan Glynn, the deputy CMO said: “Today we have reached another significant and unwelcome milestone as we report more than 200,000 confirmed cases. We must all redouble our efforts and drive down the incidence of disease in our community.”
“We are noticing a clear pattern in people with symptoms delaying contacting their GP to arrange a test. It is vital that as soon as you notice that you have symptoms of COVID-19 that you isolate and contact your GP immediately. By acting quickly, we can prevent the spread of Covid-19 and protect our vulnerable loved ones.”
Professor Philip Nolan, the chair of the NPHET Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group, said the next few weeks will be “difficult for all of us”.
“As we bring the daily case levels below 1,000 per day, our progress will seem to slow down,” Professor Nolan said.
“It is now more important than ever that we continue our efforts to bring case numbers down towards the very low levels we achieved in June and July. In that regard, it is very good news that our estimates of the R number are well below one – in the region of 0.5 – 0.8.”
- With reporting by Sean Murray
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