THE Health Protection Surveillance Centre has today been notified of 5,634 confirmed cases of Covid-19.
As of 8am today, 684 Covid-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 126 are in ICU.
Dr Tony Holohan, chief medical officer, Department of Health said: ‘Incidence of Covid-19 is continuing to rise, and today, we are once again reporting a concerning number of confirmed cases.
We know that every 1,000 cases of Covid-19 will lead to 20-25 people in hospital and between two and three people requiring critical care in ICU. We also know that, since June of this year, 1 in 4 people who had Covid-19 and required critical care in our hospitals have sadly passed away.
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.
We can change the trajectory of this disease by breaking the chains of transmission and the best way to do that is 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.
Our latest data from Amárach is showing that almost 57% of people are reducing the number of people they plan to meet between now and Christmas and 45% have cancelled plans.
We can also see that the level of compliance with the digital Covid cert has increased by almost 10% to 85%.
None of this easy, particularly at this time of year. However, the data above shows that people are making a concerted effort to reduce their risk. If we can keep this going, it will have a positive impact on disease transmission.
As such, it is important to continue to follow all of the public health advice:
- If you have any cold or flu-like symptoms at all, isolate immediately and get a PCR test, not an antigen test
- Prioritise who you need to meet and meet others outdoors
- Open windows when indoors
- Avoid poorly ventilated indoor spaces
- Wash your hands regularly
- Wear a mask
Daily case numbers may change due to future data validation.
Statistics are available on the COVID-19 Dashboard
A range of posters and signs are available for download at gov.ie/LayerUp
