PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICIALS have confirmed a further 183 cases of Covid-19 in Ireland, bringing the total number of cases to 73,228.

However, the actual number of positive cases that occurred in the last day may be higher due to an IT error.

At a press briefing this evening, Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Ronan Glynn has said that an IT error could have led to up to 100 cases having not been reported overnight.

Additionally, the Department of Health has reported that six more people have died with Covid-19.

The total number of people who have died with Covid-19 in Ireland now stands at 2,080.

Of the cases notified today, 82 are among men and 101 are among women, with 60% of the cases in people under the age of 45.

The median age of individuals with a positive case reported in today’s figures is 36 years old.

56 of the cases are in Dublin, 26 in Donegal, 13 in Limerick, 11 in Kilkenny, 11 in Monaghan, and the other 66 are spread across 15 counties.

As of 2pm today, 239 patients with Covid-19 are hospitalised, including 32 in ICU.

Ten additional hospitalisations have been made in the last 24 hours.

Validation of data at the Health Protection Surveillance Centre has resulted in 21 previously confirmed cases being denotified, which is reflected in the standing total of 73,228 cases.

The national 14-day incidence rate is currently at 79.7 per 100,000.

Donegal has the highest 14-day incidence of any country, with 212.3 cases for every 100,000 people.

The lowest incidence rates are in Clare, Kerry, Offaly, Westmeath, Wexford, and Leitrim, all of which reported either zero or fewer than five cases of Covid-19 today.

Yesterday, health officials confirmed five more deaths and 270 new cases.

Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan said that it is “important to keep up the progress that we have achieved in recent weeks”.

“Ireland now has the lowest 14-day incidence of Covid-19 in the EU, according the latest ECDC figures, and we need to hold firm to this position,” Holohan said.

“As the country moves into Level 3, there is no room for complacency in our response to Covid-19.” 

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has said that widespread Covid-19 immunity in Ireland could be possible by next September, with hopes that a Covid-19 vaccine will be rolled out by next month.