Half of the 60 patients in intensive care units with Covid-19 are under the age of 55, the Chief Medical Officer has said.
Dr Tony Holohan was speaking to RTE News last night after the Department of Health reported 1,592 new cases of Covid-19 with 318 patients in hospital, an increase of four on yesterday.
The number of people in ICU is up one overnight to 60.
Dr Holohan said: “Over the course of the last seven days, 32 people with Covid-19 were admitted to critical care facilities and today, there are a total of 60 people with Covid-19 receiving critical care.
“The median age of those in ICU is 55 – this means that 50% of the patients currently in ICU with Covid-19 are aged less than 55 years.
“Over the weekend, we reported that the number of newly confirmed COVID-19 cases in hospital in a single day had reached a level not seen since mid-February this year.
“Unfortunately, all of this indicates that we are still not at the peak of this wave of Covid-19 and that many people continue to experience severe illness due to [the virus].”
