ANOTHER 83 new cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed in Donegal this evening.
There are 3,498 new cases nationally, and 60 more people have died with the virus.
The age range of those who passed is 65 to 100 years. Of these, 59 deaths occurred in January 2021. One death occurred in December 2020.
CMO Dr Tony Holohan has issued a stark warning about Covid-19 transmission in communities: “The improvement in cases is not happening fast enough. Too many people are still not complying as fully as we need with the advice. There are early indications that we may be levelling off in terms of improvement, but at far, far too high a level of infection. The UK variant is very likely making our challenge more difficult. Please follow the public health advice. The safest place at the moment is at home. Please stay at home.”
Dr Cillian De Gascun, Medical Virologist and Director of the National Virus Reference Laboratory, said: “Due to the nature of the mutation found in the UK variant of the virus, it is inevitable that it will become the dominant variant here in Ireland over time. The UK variant has adapted to us: simply put, it is better at moving from person to person when we come into contact.
“So what we must do is reduce its opportunities to spread by cutting out socialising. Stay home. Do not visit anyone else’s home. Do not attend illegal gatherings. Remember the simple and effective measures from springtime – wash your hands well and often, wear a mask, cough and sneeze into your elbow, keep 2 metres of space from others, and phone your GP at the very first sign of COVID-19 symptoms.”
As of 2pm today, 1,854 COVID-19 patients are hospitalised of which 191 are in ICU. There have been 119 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours.
