LAST UPDATE | 3 Jan 2021

HEALTH OFFICIALS HAVE today confirmed an additional 4,962 cases of Covid-19 in Ireland.

In a statement, the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) have also confirmed seven more deaths from Covid-19.

This brings the death toll to 2,259 with a total of 101,887 cases of Covid-19 being reported in Ireland since the pandemic began.

Of the cases notified today:

• 2,408 are men / 2,539 are women
• 63% are under 45 years of age
• The median age is 36 years old
• 1,260 cases are in Dublin, 652 in Limerick, 350 in Cork, 321 in Louth, 238 in Meath and 2,141 spread across all remaining counties.

As of 2pm today, 685 Covid-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 62 are in ICU. 96 additional hospitalisations have occurred in the past 24 hours.

The number of cases is a mix of newly identified cases of Covid as well as a backlog in the reporting of the number of infected people. 

Dr Tony Holohan said: “This is a critical time. We are seeing a really significant surge in infection, which is leading to a very rapid increase in both hospitalisations and admissions to critical care units. This is not only unsustainable for the healthcare system, but also a deeply concerning level of preventable sickness and suffering that we must work together to address as quickly as possible.”

Holohan added that the number of people in hospital with Covid-19 has more than doubled from this day last week, and so has the number of people in ICU.

“Remember that behind each hospital statistic and ICU figure is a real person like you, with a family who cares about them, and a team of healthcare workers dedicated to protecting their lives. We must be as dedicated as we all were in the spring in our commitment to following the public health advice.”

Dr Ronan Glynn, deputy chief medical officer, told RTÉ News it is “essential employers facilitate employees in working from home”. He added that we  “all need to act like it’s March 2020 again”. 

“We need everyone to act like they are infectious. Tonight, I am asking people to cut their contacts to all but those who are absolutely essential,” he added.