Increase in number of people being treated with Covid-19 in hospital

Figures show that there were 613 new cases of Covid-19 in Ireland on Saturday. File picture

The number of people with Covid-19 being treated in hospital has increased to 134.

That number is up from yesterday's figure of 113, according to the HSE, while 22 people are being treated in intensive care.

The number is at its highest level since early June.

It comes as figures show that there were 613 new cases of Covid-19 in Ireland on Saturday.

224 of those cases are in Dublin, with 58 in Donegal and 46 in Cork.

10 deaths were also reported, with eight occurring prior to September 2020.

Acting Chief Medical Officer Dr Ronan Glynn has urged anyone over 70 to limit their contacts, adding that the number of cases in the last seven days “represent a significant escalation in the profile of Covid-19 in Ireland.”  

He warned: “For those aged 70+ and those who are medically vulnerable to Covid-19, it is strongly recommended that you should limit the number of people you meet to a very small core group of family members, carers or friends, for short periods of time, while remaining physically distant.

“We need to work together once again to make a significant impact on the number of cases in the community, and ultimately to reduce the number of people getting sick, being admitted to hospital and critical care, while protecting non-Covid healthcare services.

“I urge people in every county to follow the public health advice to stop the further spread of Covid-19.”  

Meanwhile, a public health expert has criticised politicians saying different approaches to tackling the virus on both sides of the border is not working.

While Ireland had 613 new cases yesterday, the Northern Ireland Department of Health confirmed there had been a total of 726 new cases there.

It is the second-highest number in one day after a record high of 934 infections were reported on Friday.

Dr Gabriel Scally told Newstalk: “I think it’s a failure of our politicians to really grasp this fantastic opportunity to really have an all island approach.

“If it was a disease in cattle or in pigs we would have been absolutely on top of this and there’d no question of doing different things.”