Health officials have today confirmed 1,314 new cases of Covid-19 in the Republic.
There are 187 people hospitalised with the virus, including 30 in ICU.
Daily county-by-county figures are no longer released by NPHET, but the latest data shows that Donegal continues to have Ireland’s highest incidence of infection.
The 14-day incidence rate in Donegal stood at 836.1 per 100,000 on 2nd August. The national average was 372.6 per 100,000.
On Tuesday evening, Letterkenny University Hospital recorded 12 patients hospitalised with Covid-19, including 2 in ICU.
There has been a total of 5,044 deaths related to COVID-19.
Dr Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health said: “Today, the ECDC and EMA have strongly encouraged those who are eligible for vaccination but have not yet been vaccinated to start and complete the recommended COVID-19 vaccination schedule as soon as they can. Full vaccination is the best protection for you and your community from COVID-19, including from variants such as Delta, which is dominant in Ireland.
“It is important to remember that infections in vaccinated people do not mean that vaccines do not work. While no vaccine is 100% effective in this way, these breakthrough infections that occur are generally much less severe, and they are associated with less risk of hospitalisation. Vaccines work.
“Vaccination programmes are one of the greatest public health developments of our time. Not only are the COVID-19 vaccines available to you in Ireland all highly effective and very safe, but they are our road out of this pandemic. Vaccination enables protection of the whole community, including the most vulnerable. Getting vaccinated is an important preventative tool personally, but it is also an act of solidarity from an individual to wider society – an act that keeps one another protected, and ensures the continued safe reopening of our society and economy.”