People have been warned of a “rapid rise” in the incidence of Covid with 1,818 more coronavirus cases reported today.
The number of people being treated for the virus in hospital has fallen by five to 244 but here are 52 Covid-19 patients in intensive care.
Dr Tony Holohan said that there is a rapid rise in the incidence of the disease across the country.
There has been a worrying 12,348 cases reported in the last seven days.
“This means that the virus is now circulating widely in our communities,” he said.
Dr Holohan urged people to continue following public health measures which will reduce the risk of outbreaks of the disease.
“While the vaccine programme continues, we need to allow time for the levels of immunity in the community to increase,” he said.
“The Delta variant spreads through close contact with others. Where possible, please continue to work from home and remember that small group meet ups in outdoor or well-ventilated indoor spaces are safer for everyone.”
Meanwhile, the Health Service Executive has said that it will operate walk-in Dose 1 and Dose 2 vaccine clinics in the coming days.
In Letterkenny the clinics will be open to people aged 16 or over who have not received a vaccine yet or are awaiting their second dose.
The Chief Executive of the HSE has said that it is “never too late” to register to receive a Covid-19 vaccine.
Paul Reid has urged people who have not yet received a vaccine to come forward.
He told today’s HSE briefing that the uptake of vaccines has been extraordinary to date, and that the vaccination programme “gives us a gateway” to reopen society.
