James Cox & Kevin Galvin
There have been seven additional deaths and 418 confirmed cases of COVID-19 confirmed today.
Of those deaths, five occurred in April, one in February and one in January.
In the South-East, Tipperary once again has the highest number of new cases with 16, while Wexford has had a jump to nine new cases of COVID-19.
Waterford has had five new cases, while Kilkenny and Carlow have had less than five each.
As of 8am today, 137 COVID-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 37 are in ICU
“As we look forward to the greater reopening of activities and services, our key objective now is to maintain our course in coming weeks and follow the public health advice in our daily activities said Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan.
“When you are planning to meet someone, remember that outdoors is safer for everybody. And when you meet up, stay at a 2m distance, keep to a small group and avoid crowded areas – this will minimise the risk of passing the virus from person to person, driving down the incidence rate and keeping our society open.
“Throughout this pandemic we have seen outbreaks and clusters of disease as a result of social events such as funerals, wakes and birthday parties. Unfortunately we need to continue to stay vigilant to the infectious nature of this disease and avoid congregating together in large groups.
"We need all sectors of society to continue to encourage and support the public health messages and to help everyone to stay safe.”
Just over 2.1 million Covid-19 vaccines have been delivered to Ireland up to and including last Sunday, according to the latest figures from the Department of Health.
As of Monday, more than 1.6 million doses had been administered.
The Department of Health says 30 per cent of the population aged 16 and older have had at least one dose of the jab.
A statement from the department read: “Ireland’s Covid-19 vaccination programme strategy is to distribute all available vaccine as quickly as is operationally possible, prioritising those who are most vulnerable to Covid-19.
“The programme is based on the principles of safety, effectiveness and fairness, with the objective of reducing severe illness, hospitalisations and deaths from Covid-19 infection.”
As of Monday, May 3rd, 1,621,870 doses of vaccine have been administered in Ireland, with 30 per cent of the population aged 16 years and older having had at least one dose.
Moderna Inc has requested that 50 per cent of its vaccine is held back for second doses. Similarly, an appropriate buffer amount is built up and held back for all vaccines to ensure availability of second doses for the following week.
Vaccination centres
Meanwhile, consideration is being given to running Covid-19 mass vaccination centres on a 24-hour basis.
The National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) asked the health service to consider the move, as a possible measure to scale up the rollout of the programme.
In response, the HSE said that the only restrictions on the rollout are vaccine supply and people not presenting for vaccination. It said it would extend the rollout as needed to match deliveries.
