47 further Covid-19 related deaths and 1,466 additional cases have been confirmed in the Republic of Ireland today.
Of these new cases, 77 were confirmed in Waterford - the highest county case figure in the region.
There are 52 in Wexford, 33 in Carlow, 31 in Tipperary and 16 in Kilkenny.
There are 1,567 people in hospital with the virus, which includes 216 in intensive care.
Meanwhile, Ireland’s Covid-19 vaccination programme is likely to miss its target of inoculating 700,000 people by the end of March, the Dail has heard.
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said the “indicative target” was heavily caveated and dependant on vaccine supplies from AstraZeneca.
Mr Donnelly said it is “very frustrating” that AstraZeneca may not be delivering the full amount anticipated by Government.
Dr Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health, said: “Incidence is falling but remains high. It is positive to see numbers of people hospitalised reducing and a stabilisation of numbers in ICU.
“However, we are continuing to experience high mortality with 878 deaths so far in January. I am concerned about the high incidence we are seeing in long-term care settings and vulnerable groups. Our efforts to stay home and break transmission of the disease will save lives. Please continue to follow the public health advice and support each other to keep going.”
Professor Philip Nolan, Chair of the NPHET Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group, said; “Incidence is falling and by working collectively to reduce contacts, we have achieved suppression of transmission with the R number estimated at 0.4-0.7. We are maintaining an extraordinary effort but still we have a long way to go. We must maintain full suppression for several weeks if we are to achieve strategic options for the future. If we keep this up, we would be down to 200-400 cases per day by the end of February.”
