LATEST: Kilkenny among 5,325 new cases of virus as 17 further deaths confirmed
A further 17 people have died after contracting the coronavirus as 5,325 new cases of Covid-19 were confirmed this evening.
It brings the overall death toll as a result of the virus to 2,282. There has now been 113,322 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: 1,931 are in Dublin, 767 in Cork, 323 in Kildare, 322 in Limerick, 238 in Donegal with the remaining 1,744 cases are spread across all other counties, including 66 further infections in Kilkenny.
Commenting on the upsurge in cases, Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan said: “We are now experiencing a considerable surge in cases and hospitalisations. We can turn this around quickly if we stick to the measures we know worked last spring.
“We have seen some early progress in that the average number of contacts per case has been dropping in recent days – but we need to continue this effort to limit as much as we can our contact with other people in the days and weeks ahead.
“If we all stay home and keep to the public health advice, we can bring Covid-19 back under control – which ultimately will protect our essential services such as Health and Education and most importantly save lives.”
PHOTO: Stock image
