LATEST: ‘Uncomfortably high’ – over 2,000 new cases of virus confirmed

A further 2,180 more people have contracted the coronavirus, the Department of Health confirmed this evening.

There are now 406 patients being treated in hospital for the virus, down seven on yesterday, while the number of people in intensive care units is 71, a drop of two.

Earlier today, Health Service Executive Chief Clinical Officer Dr Colm Henry conceeded there is an “uncomfortably high level of cases” of the virus being recorded each day.

However, he said the risk of Covid-19 cases translating into hospitalisations has “greatly weakened”.

Dr Henry told RTÉ’s Brendan O’Connor: “The link between cases and harm has been severely weakened, not completely broken. And that is down to the vaccine programme.”