Covid-19 Thursday: 1,361 new cases

THE Health Protection Surveillance Centre has today been notified of 1,361* confirmed cases of Covid-19.
As of 8am today, 160 patients are hospitalised, of which 26 are in ICU.
Dr Tony Holohan, chief medical officer, Department of Health, said: ‘We have to continue to drive up vaccination rates as high as possible. The higher we go the better the protection we have and the sooner we’ll be able to ease more of the economic and social restrictions that still remain in place.

‘Walk-in vaccination centres are opening across the country, anyone over 16 years of age can register for a Covid-19 vaccine. Encourage your friends and family to ensure they get reliable information about the vaccines available here and to get vaccinated as soon as possible.

‘For our exhausted healthcare workers, the winter months ahead mean flu, other respiratory infection admissions alongside the backlog of scheduled and unscheduled care that has been disrupted due to Covid-19. We owe it to them to continue to maintain the basic personal public health protections; manage your contacts, keep distance, wash/sanitise hands regularly, cough/sneeze etiquette, avoid crowds, wear masks indoors and in crowded settings, if you experience symptoms isolate and get tested.’