'Situation remains precarious': Covid-19 death toll hits 4,000
A dummy Covid-19 swab. File picture: Ben Birchall/PA Wire
Ireland's Covid-related deaths total has now risen above 4,000 this evening following the confirmation of a further 57 Covid-related fatalities by the Department of Health.
In total, 4,036 deaths related to the virus have been recorded since the outbreak began.
34 of today's deaths occurred in February, 21 in January, one in December, and one in November.
As well as this, the Department reported 650 confirmed cases of coronavirus today with Dublin reporting the most cases at 192.
Galway identified 53 cases while Meath recorded 50. In Cork, health officials reported 46 cases while the remaining 263 cases are spread across 19 other counties.
211,751 cases of coronavirus have been identified in Ireland since the outbreak began.
A further breakdown of today's case data shows:
- 325 confirmed cases are male and 323 cases are female
- 65% of cases are under 45 years of age
- The median age of identified cases is 37 years old
Deputy Chief Medical Officer from the Department of Health, Dr Ronan Glynn, confirmed the dominance of the UK variant among new Covid-19 cases in Ireland and warned the increased transmissibility of the new strain.
“Although we have made great progress, the situation remains precarious," Dr Glynn said.
“Almost 90% of cases in Ireland are the B117 variant. The increased transmissibility of this variant is apparent in the current profile of the disease in households, with one in three household contacts of a confirmed case testing positive for Covid-19.
“This underlines the need for people to exercise caution in households and other settings.
"In particular, people should isolate immediately on experiencing any symptoms and contact their GP,” he said.
Hospitalisations have fallen further with 831 patients now in hospital for treatment but 154 people are receiving care in intensive care units (ICUs).
49 people were admitted to hospital in the last 24 hours while 66 patients have been discharged.
Earlier it was announced that more than 4.5m extra vaccine doses will be coming to Ireland.
This comes as the EU signs a new deal with Moderna for 150m extra doses this year and confirms a deal with Pfizer/BioNTech for 300m additional doses.
Changes in the timeline for vaccination of at-risk groups could be made in the coming week, according to the Taoiseach.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin told the Dáil on Wednesday that updated advice from the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC) was expected that day.
Speaking during Leaders' Questions, the Taoiseach said family carers and those who have severe medical need are among those who may be moved up the priority list.
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