THE NUMBER OF patients with a confirmed case of Covid-19 in hospital has risen slightly for the first time this week.

As of 8am this morning, there are 349 patients in hospital who have Covid-19, with 17 new confirmed cases admitted in the last 24 hours and nine patients discharged.

Yesterday, there were 340 Covid-19 patients in hospital and 85 in ICU.

Two more people with Covid-19 were admitted to ICU in the last 24 hours and one was discharged, with a total of 86 in ICU at 8am today.

Hospitalised Covid-19 patients, which rose rapidly after Christmas to a high of 2,020 on 18 January, have been steadily declining since late January with occasional daily increases.

Two weeks ago at the start of March, there were 540 Covid-19 patients in hospital and 117 in ICU.

Yesterday, public health officials confirmed 16 deaths and 543 new cases of Covid-19 in Ireland.

The total number of confirmed cases has reached 226,358, while the death toll in Ireland is 4,534.

11 March marked one year since the first death related to Covid-19 was confirmed in Ireland.

Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Ronan Glynn said that “more than 4,500 people have lost their lives with this disease. We remember them, and their families and friends, as well as the many people who remain seriously ill or who are dealing with long-term health issues because of Covid-19″.

“Your efforts to limit contacts and follow the public health advice is not in vain, it is to protect people and it directly saves lives,” Dr Glynn said.

Chair of the Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group Professor Philip Nolan said that experts are seeing “continued, slow progress across all indicators of Covid-19″.

“There are some concerning trends in the data and as the incidence remains high, our situation is precarious,” Professor Nolan said.

“Increases in mobility and workplace attendance could potentially increase infection in the coming weeks. The R- number is estimated as stable at 0.6-1.0, but it is essential over the next few weeks that we stay home, continue to limit our contacts and suppress transmission.”