PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICIALS have confirmed 4,181 new cases of Covid-19 in Ireland.

As of 8am today, there were 668 Covid-19 patients in hospital, of whom 125 were receiving intensive care.

Today Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan issued a fresh appeal to the public to take actions to help reduce the level of transmission in the country, which he said was placing an “enormous burden” on the health system.

He urged the public to follow the five main actions to reduce risk:

1. If you have cold or ‘flu symptoms isolate immediately and get a PCR test, not an antigen test
2. Prioritise who you need to meet
3. Meet others outdoors and open windows when indoors
4. Wear a mask
5. Use the right test and understand what the test result means.

He also said people with symptoms should not rely on antigen tests and instead should immediately seek a PCR test and isolate.

He said data suggests the majority of people using antigen tests are symptomatic and when they get a negative result are incorrectly assuming they no longer have to get a PCR test or isolate.