PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICIALS have confirmed an additional 9,006 cases of Covid-19 in Ireland.

As of 8am, 521 people were in hospital with the virus, 92 of whom are in intensive care.

Yesterday, 6,735 new cases of the virus were reported.

There were 461 people in hospital with the virus on Monday, 91 of whom are in intensive care.

This morning, the CEO of the HSE said the Omicron variant is “running rife” in Ireland but has not yet reached a peak in cases “by any stretch”.

Paul Reid said that it appears cases of the highly-transmissible variant may have peaked in some other countries but not yet in Ireland.

Speaking on RTÉ Radio One’s Morning Ireland, Reid said there is “no doubt now that the virus is absolutely running rife in our communities”.

“The simple message I can say to listeners this morning is if you think that you have Covid, it’s most likely that you have it.

“If you are going into gatherings of people, particularly indoors, the high chances are that a significant number of people in those gatherings may be transmitting.”

Reid said health officials are “gaining experience from what happens in other countries, whether it’s in the UK, Denmark, Netherlands, Canada, who are probably further ahead in the curve than ourselves”.

“It would seem to be that there’s a peak at some stage. We certainly aren’t at that by any stretch just yet,” he said.

With reporting from Emer Moreau