As of 8am on Thursday, 255 Covid-19 patients are hospitalised, 22 of whom are in intensive care units (ICU). There have been 37 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours.
There has now been a total of 83,073 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and a total of 2,192 deaths related to Covid-19 in Ireland to date.
Commenting on Thursday, Chief Medical Officer Tony Holohan said: Unfortunately, none of the indicators of this disease are showing encouraging signs. Ireland now has the fastest growing incidence rate in the European Union. This Christmas, the best present you can give your loved ones is to strictly adhere to the public health advice.
New Covid 19 variant present in Ireland since at least mid-December Ireland, news for Ireland, Ireland,
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24 Dec 2020 / 05:15 H. New variant present in Ireland since at least mid-December Every indicator of disease rising rapidly - health chiefs COVID-19 reproduction number 1.5-1.8, highest since March (Adds report on health chiefs recommendations, variant in N.Ireland)
By Padraic Halpin
DUBLIN, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Irish health chiefs believe a new variant of COVID-19 found in neighbouring Britain is present in Ireland, but not solely responsible for a rapid spread of the disease that will require restrictions beyond those announced just 24 hours ago.
The presence since at least the second week of December of the more infectious variant is based on preliminary data from a selection of samples from last weekend, the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) said in a statement.
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