People told to 'stay at home' as almost 8,000 new Covid cases confirmed

The Health Protection Surveillance Centre has today been notified of 7,836 confirmed new cases of COVID-19, including 160 in County Cavan.

Sadly, the deaths of 17 more people related to COVID-19 have also been confirmed, bringing the death toll to 2,299.

The latest figures come just hours after the Government announced additional restrictions including the closure of schools until February 1; a move to 'delivery only' retail options and the closure of all non-essential constructions sites from Friday evening.

The figures are up to date as of midnight, Tuesday, January 5. There have now been a total of 121,154* confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ireland.

There have been 772 positive test results reported for County Cavan in the 14 days up to midnight, Tuesday, January 5. That translates to a 14-day incidence rate of 1013.4 cases per 100,000 of population. The national average is 819.1/100K.

Monaghan is the worst affected county in Ireland for the prevalence of the virus with an incidence rate of 1638.8 case per 100,000 of population or more than twice the national average.

Of the cases notified today:

3,740 are men / 4,078 are women

63% are under 45 years of age

The median age is 36 years old

Of the new cases, 2,263 are in Dublin, 1,373 in Cork, 496 in Louth, 345 in Limerick, 340 in Meath and the remaining 3,019 cases are spread across all other counties.

As of 2pm today, 954 COVID-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 88 are in ICU. There have been 105 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours.

Dr Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health, said: “The country is in a serious phase of this surge of COVID-19. There is evidence of an increasing presence of the UK variant in Ireland. All counties have an upward trajectory of the disease. There is concerning escalation of admissions to hospital and ICU. We are very likely to see escalating mortality and ICU admissions in the coming days and weeks.

“It has never been more important, throughout our experience of this pandemic, to stay home and only meet people outside of your household for essential purposes, always adhering to public health advice; physical distance, hand hygiene, cough/sneeze etiquette, wearing a face covering.”