A new highest daily figure in Ireland since the pandemic began.
20,554 new cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed in Ireland by the Department of Health as of Thursday evening, 30 December.
619 people are currently in hospital in relation to the virus.
Of those, 88 are in ICU.
The @hpscireland has today been notified of 20,554* confirmed cases of #COVID19.
As of 8am today, 619 COVID-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 88 are in ICU.
— Department of Health (@roinnslainte) December 30, 2021
Reacting to the numbers announced yesterday (Wednesday, 29 December), Dr Clíona Ní Cheallaigh, a Consultant Physician at St James’s Hospital in Dublin, told RTE’s Morning Ireland that “I would suspect that the true number of cases is actually much higher […],which in itself is a pretty staggering number.”
At the time of writing, according the HSE’s own Covid 19 test site, there are no available slots to book for a Covid 19 test in any of the 26 counties available via the website.
Earlier today, CMO Dr. Tony Holohan urged the people of Ireland to minimise their contacts and to not hold any household gatherings on New Year’s Eve.
As of 29 December, people aged between 30 and 39 who have received their first two doses of the Covid-19 vaccination in the previous three months are now eligible to register for their booster vaccine.
Additionally, An Taoiseach Micheál Martin took to Twitter today to announce that over two million doses of the booster vaccine have been administered in Ireland, with over 400,000 of those in the last week alone:
Omicron continues to spread rapidly and is a serious threat.
I appreciate everyone's hard work to keep people safe over this period.
Our best protection is the booster. 2.08m doses have now been given out, 417k in the last week.
Let’s keep it going – please get a booster.
— Micheál Martin (@MichealMartinTD) December 30, 2021
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