There have been 4,407 new cases of Covid-19 confirmed by the Department of Health over the past 24 hours, here in the Irish Republic.
There are 614 patients being treated in our hospitals, down 8 from yesterday, and of these 114 are being treated in intensive care units around the country.
In a statement, Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan has confirmed that there have been almost 55,000 cases of Covid-19 reported in the last 14 days; a situation which he states is now unsustainable and expected to increase in the coming days.
An Taoiseach Mr Micheál Martin has stated that the Government wants hospitality to remain open and it continues to work with the sectors to ensure the current rules around Covid-19 passes and other protections are being properly observed.
An Taoiseach further confirmed that people should work from home, unless it is absolutely necessary that they attend in person.
The Irish government has now further agreed to introduce a midnight curfew for the hospitality sector. The new rule will mean restaurants, bars and nightclubs will be forced to close at midnight, as and from next Thursday.
In Northern Ireland today a further 1,698 new cases of coronavirus have been confirmed, up from 1,457 on yesterday’s reported figures.
There remain 429 patients with Covid-19 in northern hospitals, up from 412 recorded yesterday, with 35 of these patients in northern hospital intensive care units, down from 37 also reported yesterday.
Sadly, 5 Covid-19-related deaths have also been reported in Northern Ireland over the past 24 hours.
In Portugal, Prime Minister Antonio Costa has stated that authorities, in one of the world’s most vaccinated nations, may bring back some measures to stop the spread of Covid-19, in the run-up to Christmas, as infections stand at 156 cases per 100,000 people yesterday; approximately double the cases of neighbouring Spain. Portugal has already reported around 1.1 million cases of the virus and 18,265 deaths, since the pandemic began.
Please do continue to keep yourself and your family safe by regularly washing your hands; wearing a mask when appropriate and please do cut down on your direct social contacts.
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