PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICIALS have confirmed a further 1,062 new cases of Covid-19 in Ireland.

Additionally, 10 more people have died with the virus. All the deaths occurred in January.

The latest update from the Department of Health brings the total number of cases to 197,553 and the number of people who have died to 3,317.

Of today’s cases:

506 are men and 546 are women

• 57% are under 45 years of age
• The median age is 41 years old
• 335 in Dublin, 137 in Cork, 73 in Wexford, 58 in Galway,54 in Kildare and the remaining 405 cases are spread across all other counties.

The 10 people who died were aged between 45 and 101, with a median age of 79.

At 2pm today, there were 1,436 Covid-19 patients in hospital, with 207 in ICU and 38 additional hospitalisations in the last 24 hours. 

Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan said that “while we have experienced very significant improvement in incidence over recent weeks, I am concerned that it appears to be slowing down at much too high a level of infection”.

“People need to take real care in any setting in which they come into contact with others,” Dr Holohan said.

“In particular, workplaces and retail settings need to review their existing protocols and ensure that their staff and customers are protected as much as possible,” he said.

“Given the prevalence of the B117 variant [the variant from the UK] and how infectious it is, it is extremely important that people take all preventative measures possible, including staying home.”

The national 14-day incidence rate has fallen to 478.7 cases per 100,000.

The rate has dropped slightly below a thousand in Monaghan, where it has been particularly high, to 990.5 per 100,000.

In Dublin, which recorded 335 new cases today, the rate is at 576.1.

Several counties confirmed fewer than ten cases today, including Offaly, Cavan, Longford, Sligo, Westmeath, Clare, Kerry, Leitrim and Roscommon.

Yesterday, there were 15 deaths and 1,247 new cases confirmed in Ireland.