PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICIALS have reported a further 2,121 cases of Covid-19 in Ireland.

Eight additional deaths have also been confirmed in the latest figures released this evening by the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET). 

This brings the total number of deaths associated with the disease to 2,616 and the total number of Covid-19 cases to 174,843.

All eight deaths occurred in January in people between the ages of 49 an 93.

Deaths of people with Covid-19 are not reported in real time but may have occurred over a period of several days.

The number of deaths reported on a given day, therefore, does not necessarily mean that a person with Covid-19 died within the previous 24-hour period or even the preceding few days.

In the early days of the pandemic, the Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan urged families, despite the difficulty, to register their loved ones deaths as early as possible so that health officials could gain an accurate picture of mortality.

Essentially, there is a delay between when a person dies from Covid-19 and the National Public Health Emergency Team being informed of their passing.

Meanwhile, NPHET also said that there are currently 1,975 people in hospital with the virus, including 200 in intensive care.

Of the cases notified today:

• 992 are in men and 1,117 are women;
• 58% are in those under 45 years of age;
• The median age is 39 years old;
• 753 are in people based in Dublin; 236 are people based in Cork; 142 are people based in Wexford; 126 are people based in Kildare; 109 are people based in Limerick; and the remaining 755 cases are spread across all other counties.

The five-day average of cases in Ireland is 3,149 per day. The median age of cases in the past 14 days is 39, and the mean age is 41.

Speaking this evening, Holohan said that there are now more people in hospital than at any other stage during the pandemic.

“The risk that this disease poses to the individual who is infected has not changed,” he said.

“What has changed is that we are experiencing a much greater level of community transmission and as a result we are seeing higher numbers of people with severe illness who require hospitalisation or admission to intensive care and higher numbers of mortality.

“Please continue to stay at home and drive down this infection in our community.”

Contains reporting from Cónal Thomas.