3,578 new Covid cases with more than 44,000 reported in the past 14 days
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The Department of Health has confirmed that 3,578 cases of Covid-19 have been recorded on Tuesday.
The figures come with the number of people hospitalised with Covid-19 now standing at 520 - the highest recorded figure since March of this year.
There were 81 patients with the virus admitted in the past 24 hours, which is the highest daily admission since January, while there were 53 discharges over the same period.
The number of patients being treated for Covid-19 in ICU is 78. The hospitals with the highest number of Covid-19 cases are St James's in Dublin with 44 patients, University Hospital Limerick with 37 and the Regional Hospital Mullingar with 33.
The Chief Medical Officer warned that more than 44,000 cases have been reported in the past 14 days.
"The volume of disease in the community is really very high and represents a significant risk to those who are most vulnerable in our society," said Dr Tony Holohan.
"Ensure that you are washing your hands regularly, wearing a mask on public transport and in other social settings, try to meet others outdoors and ensure that indoor spaces are well-ventilated. And of course it remains essential that anyone with symptoms isolates and gets tested."
Meanwhile, the latest figures from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation show that 449 people are currently waiting on trolleys nationwide.
Director of acute hospitals with the HSE, Liam Reid, says the country needs an additional 7,500 acute beds if more investment isn’t made in community services.
Stephen McMahon from the Irish Patients Association has described the overcrowding situation as being at “crisis point.”
“The experts are saying approximately one patient a day is dying due to overcrowding because of the pressures on the system.
“We have had reports in the last week or two, and a number of them in the public domain, where the overcrowding in some hospitals is a critical situation.
“There was one case last week where an elderly person fell off the trolley and split their face,” Mr McMahon said.