PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICIALS have confirmed 1,120 new cases of Covid-19 in Ireland.

The Department of Health has reported that 142 patients are in hospital with Covid-19, including 27 in intensive care units. 

Yesterday, 1,345 cases of Covid-19 were reported, with 141 patients with the illness in hospital, 25 of whom were in intensive care.

Today, Cabinet agreed that children aged 12 to 15 are to be offered a Covid-19 vaccine.

Chief Medical Officer, Dr Tony Holohan, encouraged parents and guardians of teenagers in this age cohort to register them for a vaccination as soon as possible.

“Almost 70% of our population is now fully vaccinated and today the vaccination programme has been extended to 12-15 year olds who will also be able to register for an mRNA vaccine,” Dr Holohan said.

Following advice from the National Immunisation Advisory Committee, which has been approved by Government, I encourage parents and guardians of those aged 12-15 years of age to register them for a vaccination as soon as the opportunity arises.

“The vaccination programme has received high uptake to date. I strongly urge anyone eligible to register for a vaccine to do so as soon as possible,” Dr Holohan concluded.

Data relating to the number of deaths associated with Covid-19, as well as case numbers by county, have been affected by the cyber attack on the HSE IT systems.

Today’s figures did not contain any information about whether there were any other deaths due to the virus.