LATEST: Major spike in cases of virus in face of Delta surge
A further 1,377 have contracted the coronavirus, the Department of Health confirmed this evening.
As of 8am there were 78 patients with Covid-19 being treated in hospital, with 22 of these in ICU.
Commenting on the latest figures, Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Ronan Glynn said the country’s Covid-19 incidence rate had now risen to more than 180 per 180,000, with NPHET reporting five-day average cases of more than 800 per day, the highest the rate has been since mid-February.
Dr Glynn said: ‘We are seeing particularly high incidence in people aged 16 to 30 years old. And unfortunately, now, over the past few days, we’ve begun to see these high cases translate into increasing numbers in hospital and in our intensive care units.’
He added that while more than 60% of the population is now fully vaccinated against Covid-19, there are still more than 2.5 million adults and children ‘who are not fully protected or are not adequately protected through vaccination’.
‘That’s a really big reservoir of people who are still vulnerable to this disease over the weeks to come,’ Dr Glynn added.
