Covid-19: 'Improvements in cases is not happening fast enough' as 60 further deaths confirmed
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There have been 60 further deaths due to Covid-19 reported this evening.
There have also been 3,231 new cases of the virus.
Of the 60 deaths, 59 occurred in January 2021. 1 death occurred in December 2020.
931 of today's cases are in Dublin, 388 are in Cork and 238 in Louth. There are 155 cases in Waterford, with 151 in Limerick, and the remaining 1,368 cases are spread across all other counties.
Of today's cases:
- 1,465 are men / 1,712 are women
- 54% are under 45 years of age
- The median age is 42 years old
The National Public Health Emergency Team confirmed that the median age of those who died is 85 years, and the age range is 65 to 100 years.
There was no newly reported death in healthcare workers and there was no newly reported death in a young person under the age of 30.
Some 1,854 people are in hospital with Covid-19 of which 191 are in ICU. Both figures are at their highest level since the pandemic began.
The death toll from the virus in Ireland now stands at 2,595 while there have been 169,780 total confirmed cases.
Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan said that the virus "has taken root in every single part of the country".
He said: "A significant percentage of the population - in excess of 1 in 10 in some counties - is currently either a case or a close contact. This is a huge burden of infection."
"When you consider that a significant percentage of our daily cases will directly lead to hospitalisation and mortality, the urgency with which we need to act becomes clear.
"By staying at home, you are protecting our health and social care services as they struggle against the enormous burden of infection that many weeks with thousands of daily cases of Covid-19 represents.
Dr Holohan stated that the "improvements in cases is not happening fast enough" as he urged people to stay at home.
"Too many people are still not complying as fully as we need with the advice. There are early indications that we may be levelling off in terms of improvement, but at far, far too high a level of infection.
"The UK variant is very likely making our challenge more difficult. Please follow the public health advice. The safest place at the moment is at home. Please stay at home.”
Dr Cillian De Gascun, Medical Virologist and Director of the National Virus Reference Laboratory, warned that "due to the nature of the mutation found in the UK variant of the virus, it is inevitable that it will become the dominant variant here in Ireland over time".
He said that the variant of the virus has adapted to us.
"Simply put, it is better at moving from person to person when we come into contact. So what we must do is reduce its opportunities to spread by cutting out socialising. Stay home.
"Do not visit anyone else’s home. Do not attend illegal gatherings. Remember the simple and effective measures from springtime – wash your hands well and often, wear a mask, cough and sneeze into your elbow, keep 2 metres of space from others, and phone your GP at the very first sign of Covid-19 symptoms."
Earlier today, doctors and other healthcare workers expressed relief after receiving Covid-19 jabs at three mass vaccination centres around the country.
The facilities opened in Dublin, Galway and Portlaoise on Saturday and will operate over the weekend.
Each is delivering hundreds of the Moderna jabs to GPs, practice nurses and other frontline staff.