Killer Covid-19 Cases On Irish Mainland Reach 6,391.

The Department of Health has confirmed, over the past 24 hours, 4,235 new cases of Covid-19 her in the Irish Republic.

There remain 470 people in hospital with the disease, down 23 on yesterday’s reported figures; of whom 105 are in ICU, a further reduction of 4 over the same time period.
There have also, sadly, been 47 deaths directly attributed to the disease, within the last 7 day, here in the Irish Republic.

In the Republic, also the Health Service Executive (HSE) has informed medical practitioners that they can offer booster mRNA vaccines to pregnant women aged 16 and older, people aged 40 to 49, and people aged 16-39 in descending order by age. Persons aged 16 to 29 who got a single dose Janssen vaccine can now be offered a booster vaccine, in parallel with those aged 30-39.

Republic of Ireland’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr Tony Holohan, has warned that today marks 10 days before Christmas, and if residents contract Covid-19 today, their isolation period will include Christmas Day.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has also warned that vaccinations alone cannot and will not stop the rise of the new Omicron variant of coronavirus, adding that strong action was urgently required. This Omicron Covid-19 variant has now been detected in 77 countries, since it was first identified three weeks ago.

An Tánaiste Mr Leo Varadkar has stated that he expects the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) to make further recommendations tomorrow with regard to managing social contacts and the decreasing of social mixing.

A further 2,156 new cases of coronavirus has also been confirmed in Northern Ireland today, up from 1,581 cases reported yesterday.

There were 315 patients with Covid-19, in northern hospitals, same down from 326 reported yesterday and of these 32 patients were in hospital intensive care units, up 1 on yesterday.
Sadly, 4 Covid-19-related deaths have also been reported in Northern Ireland over the past 24 hours.

Please, Please do take all measures necessary to ensure a safe Christmas in Co. Tipperary.