BREAKING: Kilkenny among 2,001 new cases of virus as 93 further deaths confirmed

A record 93 people have died after contracting the coronavirus as 2,001 new cases of Covid-19 were confirmed this evening.

The 93 deaths are the largest daily total by some distance since the pandemic began. It brings the overall death toll as a result of the virus to 2,708.

There have now been 176,839 confirmed cases of Covid-19 across the country, according to the latest daily briefing from the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET).

The breakdown of the latest cases is as follows: 701 are in Dublin, 204 in Cork, 102 in Waterford, 98 in Meath, 90 in Donegal with the remaining 806 cases are spread across all other counties, including 20 further infections in Kilkenny.

The amount of people in ICU has hit 202, while 1,949 COVID-19 patients are currently in our hospitals.

Chief Medical Officer, Dr Tony Holohan, said this evening: “While we are starting to see the early results of our collective efforts to minimise the transmission of the virus, we are very sadly reporting an additional 93 deaths today.

“We cannot afford to drop our guard against the very high levels of infection that remain in the community at present. COVID-19 ICU and hospitalisation numbers are of critical concern to us, representing a very significant pressure on our healthcare workers and on the provision of acute medical and surgical non-COVID care.

“We need everyone to stay at home, other than for essential reasons,” Dr Holohan added.