HEALTH OFFICIALS HAVE reported 3,569 new cases of Covid-19 in Ireland.

A further 63 deaths were notified in the past 24 hours, according to the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET).

It brings to 2,460 the number of deaths from Covid-19 in Ireland to date. A total of 159,144 cases have now been confirmed since the beginning of the pandemic.

The number of hospitalisations due to Covid-19 is now double the peak of April 2020. 

As of 2pm, 1,770 Covid-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 172 are in ICU. There have been 133 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours.

Of the cases notified today:

• 1,616 are men / 1,924 are women
• 54% are under 45 years of age
• The median age is 42 years old
• 1,119 are in Dublin, 416 in Cork, 200 in Galway, 182 in Louth, 169 in Waterford, and the remaining 1,483 cases are spread across all other counties.

Chief medical officer Tony Holohan said we are seeing some early signs of progress with daily cases numbers and positivity rates.

“We can take some hope in them, but we have a long, long way to go. In the coming weeks ahead, we will need to draw upon our reserves of resilience from springtime as we can expect to see hospitalisations, admissions to ICU and mortality related to Covid-19 increase day on day.

“At this challenging time, it is important to remind those that need acute care that hospitals are there for those that need them. No one should ignore any worrying signs they may need medical attention, such as lumps, chest pain or other new symptoms. Phone your GP if you have any concerns, not just those related to Covid-19.”

‘Overloaded’

Earlier today, the INMO said the healthcare system is overloaded and is calling for “urgent government intervention”.

The union’s executive council met today to discuss the “unprecedented” pressure on frontline members due to the rapid growth in Covid-19 cases.

They are calling for the level of PPE in healthcare settings to be upgraded to FFP2 masks and an end to the policy allowing asymptomatic close contacts to return to work.

This morning HSE Chief Operations Officer Dr Anne O’Connor said requesting close contacts to return to work was a “last resort”, but the healthcare service is now under significant pressure and needs the staff.

“The reality is that the demand now is so high, and the numbers are becoming so high that we need staff at work and given the level of absenteeism that is becoming very difficult across the board,” she said.

With reporting by Garreth MacNamee