61 further deaths and 2,488 confirmed Covid-19 cases in Ireland

Dr Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer. Picture: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin

There have been further 61 deaths related to Covid-19 reported today.

There have also been a further 2,488 number of confirmed cases.

Of the deaths reported today, 58 deaths occurred in January.

The Department of Health confirmed that the median age of those who died was 83 years and the age range was 41-100 years.

Some 726 of today's cases are in Dublin, with 314 in Cork and 148 in Galway.

There were 133 cases reported in Limerick, 130 in Meath and the remaining 1,037 cases are spread across all other counties.

Of today's cases: 

• 1,090 are men / 1,383 are women 
• 51% are under 45 years of age 
• The median age is 44 years old

The Department added that as of 2pm today, 1,923 Covid-19 patients have been hospitalised, of which 210 were in ICUs at 11am.

Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan warned that the country can't underestimate the virus.

"The number of cases and deaths that we are reporting today and the persisting high incidence rate of Covid-19 across the country shows that we cannot underestimate the highly infectious nature of this disease and the impact that it can have on families and communities," he said. 

“The virus spreads through close contacts, through the congregation of people. We need everyone to stay at home as much as possible, and to work from home, where possible. 

"You should not meet up with friends or loved ones, unless you are caring for them. If you go out for exercise, you need to stay within 5km from your home, wear a face covering where appropriate and wash your hands when you return home to protect yourself from infection.

“If you are Covid positive you should self-isolate and stay at home, in your room, avoiding contact with other people. This is to protect the other people that you live with.”

The death toll from the virus now stands at 2,768 while there has been a total of 179,324 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Ireland. 

Earlier today, it was revealed that current Level 5 Covid-19 restrictions look set to be extended next week.

Ministers will discuss the review of the country's restrictions, due to expire on January 31, next week, but Cabinet sources say they will be extended.

While there is no clarity on exactly when restrictions would be lifted, sources say it could be a “number of weeks”.