66 further deaths with 1,078 confirmed Covid-19 cases in Ireland

Dr Ronan Glynn, Deputy Chief Medical Officer. File picture: Sam Boal / RollingNews.ie

There have been 66 further deaths related to Covid-19 reported by the National Public Health Emergency Team today.

There have also been a further 1,078 confirmed cases of the virus in Ireland.

Some 41 of these deaths occurred in February, eight occurred in January, seven in December and nine occurred in November or earlier.

Nphet reports that the median age of those who died was 84 years and the age range was 39-98 years.

A statement revealed that of today's cases 433 are in Dublin, with 139 in Galway. 52 cases are in Limerick, with 49 are in Wexford, 43 in Mayo and the remaining 362 cases are spread across all other counties.

Of today's cases:

• 523 are men
• 549 are women 
• 70% are under 45 years of age 
• The median age is 32 years old

The death toll from the virus here now stands at 3,931 while there have been 208,796 total cases in Ireland.

As of 8am today, 898 Covid-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 171 are in ICUs. 

Dr Ronan Glynn, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, urged people to contact their GP if they have Covid-symptoms. 

"If you have any symptoms suggestive of Covid-19, such as cough, fever, shortness of breath or a change in your sense of smell or taste, self-isolate (stay in your room) immediately and phone your GP without delay. 

"If you are in any doubt about any symptoms you have, you should always contact your GP.

"Your test and GP assessment will be free of charge. This includes GP out of hours services, contact details for which are on the HSE website www.hse.ie."

Dr Glynn said any GP can arrange a test for you if you do not have one. 

He added: “The best way to protect ourselves and our vulnerable loved ones from serious illness as a result of Covid-19 infection is to continue taking the actions we know can effectively supress this virus. 

"Keep physical distance from others, wash hands regularly, avoid crowds and wear face coverings that are fitted correctly."

Vaccines

Nphet confirmed that as of February 10, 256,681 doses of the vaccine have been administered in Ireland.

Some 166,863 people have received their first dose, while 89,818 people have received their second.

Meanwhile, almost 5,000 Covid-19 vaccines are being administered to doctors and practice nurses at mass vaccination centres across the country this weekend.

The HSE is hoping that the vast majority of them will have had at least their first dose of the vaccine over the next two days.

The Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines are being given at centres in Dublin, Portlaoise and Galway, with 1,800 expected to receive their second dose.

Earlier today, the Tánaiste said the country is 'back on track' in the battle against the virus, after case numbers soared last month.

Leo Varadkar said the number of people in hospital and ICUs should continue to drop in the coming weeks.

"It's estimated that the R number is between 0.6 and 0.8 so if we stick with what we are doing, if we stay on track then we project that the number of people in hospital by the end of February/start of March would be around 500-600.

"So roughly half what it is now and the number of people in critical care between 70 and 100 - around half what it is now."