PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICIALS have confirmed 5,590 new cases of Covid-19 in Ireland.

As of 8am today, 505 people are in hospital with Covid-19, including 117 patients in intensive care units.

Yesterday, 2,950 new cases were confirmed while 536 Covid-19 patients were in hospital, of whom 110 were in ICU.

Chief Medical Officer, Dr Tony Holohan, said: “The current high incidence of Covid-19 that Ireland is experiencing is driven by the Delta variant, which, coupled with the presence of the Omicron variant, means that the trajectory of the disease remains uncertain.

“Booster vaccinations have been shown to produce very strong antibody responses and are likely to provide protection against severe disease, hospitalisation and death from most variants, including Delta and Omicron, at least in the short term.

“In the over 75 age group, where people have been taking up the offer of a third dose of a Covid-19 vaccine in high numbers, we are seeing significant reductions in the incidence of disease. This is another positive development and further evidence that getting a third dose of Covid-19 vaccine helps to protect from the most severe effects of Covid-19,” Dr Holohan said.

NPHET reported last Wednesday that a further 55 Covid-related deaths had been notified in the previous week, bringing the number of people who have died with Covid-19 since the beginning of the pandemic in Ireland to 5,707.