LAST UPDATE | 11 Oct 2020

A FURTHER 814 new cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed in Ireland, the Department of Health has said this evening.

In a statement, it said that a further two people confirmed to have Covid-19 have died.

The death toll from Covid-19 in Ireland is 1,826, and the total number of cases now stands at 42,528.

Yesterday, over 1,000 new cases of Covid-19 were reported amid a worsening situation with the virus across the country. 

Of today’s cases, 432 are men and 381 are women. The data shows that 70% of the cases are under 45 years of age, while the median age is 32. 

Today, 226 cases were recorded in Dublin, with 77 in Cork and 64 in Galway. Fifty six were recorded in Donegal, with 48 in Meath and the remaining 343 cases spread across the rest of the counties.

There are currently 204 Covid-19 patients in hospital, of which 30 are in ICU. There have been 16 more people hospitalised in the last 24 hours.

“It is vital that the entire population consistently implement public health advice into their daily lives; keep your social contacts to an absolute minimum and keep physical distance when you need to be out of your home,” Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan said. 

On Twitter, Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said that while figures were “disappointing” people shouldn’t lose hope.

“They don’t yet reflect the impact of changes to our behaviour since the whole country was moved to Level 3. The latest figures suggest that transmission is slowing in Dublin. This is encouraging,” Donnelly said. 

Earlier today, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar suggested that a “short, hard lockdown to knock the virus on the head again” may be needed in the near future. This follows the government opting not to take NPHET’s recommendation to move to Level 5 a week ago. 

However, Taoiseach Micheál Martin this afternoon appeared to cast doubt on such an idea. 

Earlier, 1,066 new cases of the virus were confirmed in Northern Ireland.

With reporting by Dominic McGrath