A FURTHER 482 new cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed in Ireland, the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) has said this evening.

In a statement, it said that a further seven people confirmed to have Covid-19 have died.

The death toll from the coronavirus in Ireland is now 1,972, and the total number of confirmed cases is now at 67,099.

As of 2pm today, 258 Covid-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 35 are in ICU with 12 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours.

From today’s numbers, 128 are in Dublin, 45 in Cork, 43 in Waterford, 24 in Donegal, 24 in Meath, 36 in Limerick and the remaining 182 cases are spread across 20 other counties.

The current 14-day incidence rate of Covid-19 is 129.2 per 100k.

Chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan said: “The increase in case numbers of Covid-19 today is an important reminder of the unpredictable nature of this highly infectious disease. The hard work undertaken by all of us over the last three weeks is to be commended, but we must not allow our success to date let us drop our guard against the spread of this disease.

“We need to hold firm to the public health advice: keep 2m distance, wash our hands, wear face coverings where appropriate and limit ourselves to essential contacts from our own household. If we can keep up high levels of compliance, we can get to where we need to be on the 1 December.”

Earlier today, Taoiseach Micheál Martin appealed to the nation to adhere to Level 5 restrictions for the next three weeks. 

Marking the mid-point of Level 5 restrictions, Martin said the data suggests that the efforts in place are working.

“By continuing to drive down the incidence of the disease, we give ourselves the best chance to reopen parts of our society and to enjoy a meaningful Christmas,” he said.

Martin’s statement comes as Dr Holohan yesterday said people should regard travel home for Christmas as non-essential.

With reporting from Adam Daly