13 further Covid-19 related deaths and 938 additional cases have been confirmed in the Republic of Ireland as the country enters new Level 5 restrictions.
Of the deaths reported today, 10 occurred in December. There has been a total of 2,184 Covid-19 related deaths in Ireland.
As of midnight Tuesday, December 22nd, the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) has been notified of 938 confirmed cases of Covid-19. There is now a total of 82,155 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Ireland.
In the South East, Wexford has confirmed 38 new cases, the highest in the Region.
Followed by 16 in Kilkenny, 10 in Waterford and less than 5 in Tipperary and Carlow .
Meanwhile, a senior HSE official has warned that the coronavirus situation in Ireland is deteriorating at a faster pace than anywhere in Europe.
Chief clinical officer Dr Colm Henry said the infection rate is “frightening” and the curve is moving in an almost “vertical direction”.
His analysis came as HSE chief executive Paul Reid warned of “serious and dangerous” levels of transmission that could lead to a “massive surge” in hospital admissions after Christmas.
Dr Henry told the weekly HSE media briefing there could be 1,500 new confirmed cases of the virus a day by the first week in January.
He said: “We received this best or second best in Europe in terms of a 14-day incidence (rate of the virus), but in terms of our deterioration over the past week, we’re deteriorating at more rapid pace in seven days than any other country in Europe and so we won’t hold this position for long.”
