PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICIALS have confirmed 4,642 new cases of Covid-19 in Ireland.

As of 8am today, there were 556 Covid-19 patients in hospital, of whom 107 are in ICU.

Yesterday, 5,483 new cases of Covid-19 were reported and 549 people with the virus were in hospital, including 96  in ICU.

The National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) confirmed on Wednesday that 74 deaths were notified to them in the previous week, bringing Ireland’s total to 5,566.

Deaths related to Covid-19 are being announced on a weekly basis but this does not necessarily mean all deaths confirmed today occurred in the past week, as the system in Ireland allows a period of time for deaths to be registered.

The Department of Health confirmed yesterday evening that the high caseload is not due to a delay or backlog.

“There is always a short time lag between positive tests on a particular day and cases notified and validated on the CIDR surveillance system,” the department said.

 “There is currently no specific delay in processing time or backlog of laboratory diagnosis.”