breaking More than 100 people in ICU with Covid-19 as further 1,631 cases of virus confirmed

More than 100 people are in ICU with Covid-19, the Department of Health has confirmed.

A further 1,631 cases of the virus were confirmed this afternoon at a National Public Health and Emergency Team (Nphet) press conference.

Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Ronan Glynn said the dip in case numbers may be due to the Bank Holiday weekend, and has warned that higher case numbers could be anticipated towards the end of this week.

As of 8am this morning, 503 people are in hospital with coronavirus, 101 of which are in ICU.

The Department confirmed that 67 more people have died of Covid-19 this week, bringing the total number of virus deaths to 5,436.

Last night CMO Dr Tony Holohan said he was becoming “increasingly worried” at the spread of the virus.

“I am increasingly worried about the rising incidence of the disease nationwide. Our primary focus now must be to protect the most vulnerable from Covid-19,” he said.

“We are seeing a continuing increase in hospitalisation and intensive care admissions – a substantial amount of whom are not fully vaccinated - placing our frontline healthcare services, including non-COVID care, under significant pressure.”

More to follow…