One in four people who required critical care for Covid have died
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A further 5,634 cases of Covid-19 have today been confirmed in what the Chief Medical Officer has described as "a concerning" number of cases.
Since June of this year, 1 in 4 people who had Covid-19 and required critical care sadly passed away, Dr Tony Holohan said.
As of 8 am today, 684 Covid-19 patients are in hospital with 126 of those being treated in ICU.
On Sunday, there were 668 Covid-19 patients hospitalised, with 125 in ICU.
Speaking on the latest figures, Dr Tony Holohan said they are once again reporting “a concerning number of confirmed cases” as the incidence of the virus continues to rise.
“We know that every 1000 cases of Covid-19 will lead to 20-25 people in hospital and between 2-3 people requiring critical care in ICU," Dr Holohan said.
"This information is not easy to hear, but it is an important reminder of the serious risk that Covid-19 continues to pose to all of us."
Data from Amárach has shown that almost 57% of people are reducing the number of people they plan to meet between now and Christmas while 45% have cancelled plans.
The level of compliance with the Digital COVID Cert has increased by almost 10% to 85%.
Dr Holohan said it is possible to change the trajectory of the virus by breaking the chains of transmission.
He urged the public to continue to adhere to “all the layers of the public health advice”.
“We know that this will work, and we know that people are making many additional efforts to drive down incidence of disease in the community."
He added that the data shows that people are making a concerted effort to reduce their risk.
The number of Covid patients in hospital has reached a nine-month high with 684 people in hospital with the virus.
It is up 10% over the past week and 37% over the past fortnight.
The latest figures show 126 patients are in intensive care with the virus - the highest figure since the end of February.
Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland Senior Lecturer Eoghan de Barra says it is "a very significant strain" on resources and will make life very difficult for the health service.
Dr de Barra says the number of Covid patients in ICU is edging up.
"The other telling part is that the people who get in to ICU with Covid, they don't exit ICU very promptly. Every single extra patient there might be there for weeks," said Dr de Barra.
"So we are building up pressure for the weeks ahead."
He said that hospitals are already restricting scheduled or elective activities with plans being put in place for further escalation in numbers.