14,549 new cases confirmed as recent case spike puts HSE under ‘huge pressure’ 

Dr Colm Henry said there are more than 6,000 health staff absent from work, as the service struggles to deal with a spike in cases (PA)

A further 14,549 new cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed this afternoon by officials at the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC).

5,962 of the cases were confirmed by PCR testing while the remaining 8,587 cases were recorded through postive antigen test results uploaded to the HSE's portal.