LATEST: Kilkenny among 764 new cases of virus as four further deaths confirmed
A further four people have died after contracting the coronavirus as 764 new cases of Covid-19 were confirmed this evening.
It brings the overall death toll as a result of the virus to 2,158. There has now been 79,542 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 follow: 284 are in Dublin, 70 in Limerick, 52 in Donegal, 44 in Cork, 37 in Wexford with the remaining 277 cases are spread across another 20 counties, including eight new infections in Kilkenny.
Commenting on the upsurge in cases, the Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan said: “Every indicator of disease severity is moving in the wrong direction, more rapidly than we had anticipated. We have particularly strong concerns about the prospect of inter-generational mixing around the festive season.
“On 11th December the 7-day incidence rate for people aged 19-44 was 106 per 100,000 population, by yesterday this rate had more than doubled to 217 per 100,000. If these younger people come into contact with their loved ones over the age of 65, we could see a spike in infections in this more vulnerable group. This would lead to very a serious pattern of disease, hospitalisations, ICU admissions and unnecessary deaths.”
