63 further Covid-19 deaths confirmed, 3,569 new cases

The latest figures have been released.

63 further Covid-19 deaths have been confirmed, as well as 3,569 new cases. Five of these deaths were in November, and one was in December. The rest have occurred in the past two weeks. Our Covid death toll now stands at 2,460, while 159,144 people have tested positive for the virus. 1,119 of today’s cases are in Dublin, 416 in Cork, 200 in Galway, 182 in Louth, 169 in Waterford, and the remaining 1,483 are spread across all other counties. As of 2pm on Wednesday, 1,770 Covid patients are hospitalised, of which 172 are in ICU. There has been 133 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours across Ireland.  Speaking of the high mortality figures, Chief Medical Officer Tony Holohan said: "The best way that we can all support one another now is to stay apart. Sadly, what we are seeing now is a result of the very high daily confirmed case numbers we experienced for successive weeks. "To ensure our hospitals and loved ones remain protected, and stay alive to receive the vaccine, please continue to follow public health advice and stay home.” Earlier on Wednesday, the Northern Ireland Department of Health reported a further 1,145 individuals have tested positive for Covid-19 in the past 24 hours. Sadly, a further 19 deaths have also been reported up north. It was announced earlier on Wednesday that Ireland's latest vaccine figures will be available on the Covid data hub online from this weekend.