Covid-19 Tuesday: 397 new cases

THE Health Protection Surveillance Centre has today been notified of 397* confirmed cases of Covid-19.

As of 8am today, 54 patients are hospitalised, of which 16 are in ICU.

Dr Tony Holohan, chief medical officer, Department of Health, said: ‘We are seeing a small but concerning increase in hospitalisations in recent days, coming 10-14 days after the five day moving average of daily case numbers began to increase. This is a cause for concern and we will be monitoring it closely in the days and weeks ahead.

‘Full vaccination is needed to protect against Covid-19, including the Delta variant. To protect yourselves and your loved ones, it is extremely important to take up the opportunity of being vaccinated and come forward for your second dose as soon as it is offered to you. The second vaccination is very effective at preventing both disease and hospitalisation.’