PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICIALS yesterday confirmed 1,631 new cases of Covid-19 in Ireland.

As of 8am yesterday, there were 503 Covid-19 patients in hospital, of which 101 are in ICU.

Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan said in a statement accompanying yesterday’s figures:  “Incidence of Covid-19 is increasing at a concerning rate. The seven-day moving average is now 2,043, up from 1,138 only three weeks ago. Incidence is increasing across all age groups, highest in those aged 5-12.

“A combination of higher levels of social contact, a move to socialisation indoors and a collective relaxing of basic public health behaviours combined has led to this surge of infection.

“The importance of individual, institutional and sectoral attention to risk mitigation is crucial at this point. I encourage all of us to ensure we are allowing basic public health advice and to expect the presence of infection prevention control measures in settings we visit.”

The HSE launched its Covid-19 contact tracing app in July 2020, which is intended to help contact tracing, particularly with people who aren’t family and friends, and uses Bluetooth technology to determine whether you’ve been a close contact of someone who’s tested positive for the virus.

So, with the recent surge of Covid-19 cases in mind, today we want to know… Are you still using the Covid-19 tracker app?