The UK mutation of Covid-19, which is easier to catch, accounts for more than 60pc of cases here and is growing, Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan warned last night at a Nphet briefing.
There have been 757 new cases confirmed in Dublin, 237 in Cork, 154 in Waterford, 123 in Wexford, 114 in Louth, and the remaining 986 cases are spread across all other counties.
Boris Johnson told the Downing Street press conference this evening: “I must tell you this afternoon that we’ve been informed today that in addition to spreading more quickly it also now appears that there is some evidence that the new variant, the variant that was first identified in London and the South East, may be associated with a higher degree of mortality.”
Some evidence dominant UK Covid variant has higher degree of mortality , Boris Johnson warns independent.ie - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from independent.ie Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
A further 52 coronavirus-related deaths have been announced alongside 2,371 new cases.
Health officials said 50 of the deaths occurred this month, two of which are still under investigation.
This afternoon, there were 1,931 patients in Irish hospitals, with 219 in intensive care.
The death toll in Ireland now stands at 2,870, with the total number of cases at 184,279.
The national total accounts for the denotification of 14 previously-confirmed cases.
We ve never seen 66% of patients in ICU (211) being treated for the same illness. We re battling hard to sustain safe levels of care but its getting harder.300 patients are also receiving respiratory support outside of ICU. Nothing is more serious. #StaySafe@HSELive#COVID19
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The UK coronavirus variant may be more deadly than the original, according to the UK Prime Minister.
Speaking at Downing Street this evening, Boris Johnson said there is “some evidence” that the UK variant may be “associated with a higher degree of mortality.”
He noted that “all current evidence continues to show” that the vaccines approved in the UK remain effective against both the original coronavirus strain and the UK one.
Last night, the Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan warned that the UK variant now