PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICIALS have confirmed a further 448 cases of Covid-19 in Ireland.

The deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Ronan Glynn has also said the overall death toll as a result of Covid-19 has now reached 5,000. 

44 Covid-19 patients are in hospital, of which 14 are in intensive care units. 12 people have been hospitalised in the past day. 

Data relating to the number of deaths associated with the illness, as well as case numbers by county, have been affected by the cyber attack on the HSE IT systems.

Yesterday, 452 new Covid-19 cases were confirmed in Ireland. There were 44 people in hospital, with 14 of them in ICU.

In a statement, the Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan said “we are all concerned about the rapidly changing transmission arising from the Delta variant”.

He encouraged people to continue with basic measures against the disease including wearing a mask, avoiding crowds, meeting outdoors and also encouraged people to get vaccinated “when it is offered to you”. 

Professor Philip Nolan, chair of the NPHET Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group, said: “We have seen an increase in incidence over the last ten days, raising the concern that we are in the early phase of an increase driven by the Delta variant.”

He said incidence of the disease is growing at a rate of around 2% each day. 

Dr Cillian De Gascun, director of the National Virus Reference Laboratory, said: “The prevalence of Delta in the community is increasing, but its effect on hospitalisations and severe illness is still emerging.”

Concerns were raised at a NPHET press briefing this evening about Dublin where disease rates have “taken off” compared to the rest of the country. 

The R number is estimated to be between 1 and 1.2. 

With reporting by Orla Dwyer