A total of 1,062 more people have tested positive for coronavirus in Ireland, while ten more deaths have been confirmed.
The latest figures were released this evening by the Department of Health.
It brings the total number of infections here to 197,553 since the pandemic began.
Dublin saw the highest number of cases once again with 335, while there was 137 in Cork, 73 in Wexford, 58 in Galway,54 in Kildare and the remaining 405 cases are spread across all other counties
Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan said: "While we have experienced very significant improvement in incidence over recent weeks, I am concerned that it appears to be slowing down at much too high a level of infection. People need to take real care in any setting in which they come into contact with others.
"In particular, workplaces and retail settings need to review their existing protocols and ensure that their staff and customers are protected as much as possible.
“Given the prevalence of the B117 variant and how infectious it is, it is extremely important that people take all preventative measures possible, including staying home.”
It comes after the HSE announced that Ireland is now up to 199,800 in vaccination doses administered. These figures are comprised of 150,500 first doses being issued and 49,300 vials of the second dose.
In terms of the total vaccinations that were given during the week of January 25-31st, that figure stands at 50,900 - 5,300 vials of the first dose and 45,600 of the second.
Speaking about today's announcement, Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said: "Thanks to the on-going efforts of our brilliant vaccination teams, the Ambulance Service, the Defence Forces and many others right across the HSE, by yesterday we had administered almost 200k vaccines."
During the period of January 25-31, 6,400 vials of the vaccine were administered to those in long term residential care facilities (LTRCF), while 44,500 vaccinations were given to staff at acute hospitals.
According to the HSE, from January 25 to 31, the plan was that 45,000 frontline healthcare workers would get their second vaccination dose during the week. The HSE planned to give 6,551 vaccines to staff and residents of long-term care facilities. This includes both first and second doses.
As for this week, the HSE is aiming to give around 46,000 vaccinations.
These will be second doses across both frontline healthcare workers and staff and residents of long-term care facilities.
The later phases will focus on the next groups.
The next 3 groups to be offered Covid-19 vaccines are:
- people aged 70 and older (group 3)
- other healthcare workers not in direct patient contact (group 4)
- people aged 65-69, prioritising people with medical conditions which put them at high risk of severe disease (group 5)
