PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICIALS have confirmed an additional 17,656 cases of Covid-19 in Ireland.

As of 8am, 928 people were in hospital with the virus, 94 of whom are in intensive care.

The National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) said that there had been 40 deaths notified in the past week, bringing Ireland’s total to 5,952. Last week, there were 22 deaths notified.

Chief Medical Officer, Dr Tony Holohan said that it was concerning to see rising numbers of patients with Covid-19 in hospital.

“It is concerning to see the rising number of people with COVID-19 in hospital. This means that our collective efforts to follow the public health advice remain very important,” said Holohan.

“I know that many have sacrificed valuable time with friends and family to protect themselves and the wider community. These continued efforts are helping to slow the spread of this virus and will protect many from infection in the next few weeks.”

The CMO said that getting a booster jab would help prevent people getting severe disease due to Covid-19, and encouraged people to get boosted.

“The booster programme is now open to everyone aged 16 and over. If you are not yet fully vaccinated or are yet to receive a booster dose, please take this opportunity to protect yourself as soon as possible.

The best way for all of us to stay safe and to continue to protect our loved ones over the coming weeks is to isolate immediately if symptomatic, to keep your social contacts as low as possible, to avoid high risk activities and poorly ventilated environments and to continue to follow all of the public health measures that we know can stop the spread of COVID-19.

Earlier today, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said that a majority of patients currently receiving treatment in ICU have the Delta variant of Covid-19, rather than the Omicron variant.

Speaking following a cabinet meeting this morning, Martin said that there are more pressures on hospitals this year apart from Covid-19.

“There is a broader range of pressures on hospitals this year, not just Covid, as there is far more activity out there,” said Martin.

“It still seems that the bulk of the ICU cases are Delta cases, complex, severe illness in many cases and that is the feedback from the HSE.

“The hospitals are under pressure, staff absences are contributing.”

The latest figures come in the wake of warnings from NPHET that the PCR testing system has been overwhelmed by the volume of the disease in the country, and that the true volume of cases is up to 40% higher.

The daily case number figures released each evening are likely to give an underestimate of the level of Covid-19 in Ireland compared to earlier periods in the pandemic when the daily figures were much lower. 

The hospitalisation figures released each evening include details of people who were either admitted to hospital with Covid-19 or received a ‘detected’ result while in hospital. 

Additional reporting by Press Association.