17,656 Cases of Covid-19 Confirmed; 928 Patients In Hospital

Wednesday, 5 January 2022 17:24

By Caoimhe Harney

94 people are in ICU

17,656 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed this evening.

As of 8am today, 928 COVID-19 patients were in hospital, of which 94 are in ICU.

There has been a total of 5,952 deaths related to COVID-19 notified in Ireland.

This includes 40 deaths newly notified in the past week, since last Wednesday.

Dr Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health said: “It is concerning to see the rising number of people with COVID-19 in hospital. This means that our collective efforts to follow the public health advice remain very important.

"I know that many have sacrificed valuable time with friends and family to protect themselves and the wider community. These continued efforts are helping to slow the spread of this virus and will protect many from infection in the next few weeks.

“The COVID-19 vaccine booster will protect the majority of people from severe disease. The booster programme is now open to everyone aged 16 and over.

"If you are not yet fully vaccinated or are yet to receive a booster dose, please take this opportunity to protect yourself as soon as possible," he urged.

“The best way for all of us to stay safe and to continue to protect our loved ones over the coming weeks is to isolate immediately if symptomatic, to keep your social contacts as low as possible, to avoid high risk activities and poorly ventilated environments and to continue to follow all of the public health measures that we know can stop the spread of COVID-19,” he concluded.

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