People continue to break Covid regulations and this is leading to a failure to bring transmission levels down, Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan has warned.
He spoke as the number of people being admitted to hospital rose again to another record high this morning.
The number of patients with a confirmed case of Covid-19 in hospital rose to 1,872 while those in intensive care units hit a new high of 186.
Some 111 patients with the virus are on a ventilator. The number of patients in hospital with a suspected case of Covid-19 fell to 136.
Dr Holohan pleaded once again with people to follow the guidelines strictly.
He warned “This virus has taken root in every single part of the country,” said Dr Holohan.
“A significant percentage of the population – in excess of one in 10 in some counties – is currently either a case or a close contact. This is a huge burden of infection.
“When you consider that a significant percentage of our daily cases will directly lead to hospitalisation and mortality, the urgency with which we need to act becomes clear.”
Dr Tony Holohan said reductions in infections are not happening fast enough with the virus having taken hold in every part of Ireland and he said levels of infection are still “far too high”.
A further 60 Covid-19 deaths were announced yesterday, along with 3,231 new cases.
An estimated 6,500 HSE staff are currently out sick with Covid-19.
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