PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICIALS have confirmed a further 897 new cases of Covid-19 in Ireland.

Additionally, 101 more people have died with the virus. Of these deaths, 83 occurred in January and 18 in February. 

The latest update from the Department of Health brings the total number of cases to 198,424 and the number of people who have died to 3,418.

The age range of those who died is 19-103 years, while the median age if 85. 

Of the cases notified today:

• 419 are men / 459 are women
• 56% are under 45 years of age
• The median age is 41 years old
• 383 in Dublin, 79 in Cork, 53 in Galway, 40 in Limerick, 34 in Meath and the remaining 290 cases are spread across 20 other counties. 

As of 2pm today, 1,388 Covid-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 207 are in ICU. There have been 45 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours.

“This is the highest number of deaths we have reported on any single day of the Covid-19 pandemic so far,” Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan said. 

“The high mortality we are experiencing as a country at the moment is related to the surge of infection we saw several weeks ago, and the hospitalisations and admissions to ICU that followed as a direct result.

Although we have seen great improvement in the level of infection being reported, we have a long way to go and incidence needs to decline much further. The best way to honour those who have died from Covid-19, and those who loved them or provided care for them, is to follow the public health advice. Stay at home unless absolutely necessary, and encourage your friends, family and colleagues to do the same.

“What we can have control over today is the outlook of this disease in the weeks to come. Your positive actions matter, and they add up at a collective level. Please keep it up.”