A total of 922 people have tested positive for Covid-19 in Ireland, while 8 more deaths have been confirmed.
There has been a total of 2,192 COVID-19 related deaths in Ireland.
As of midnight Wednesday 23rd December, the HPSC has been notified of 922 confirmed cases of COVID-19. There is now a total of 83,073* confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ireland.
Of the cases notified today:
- 438 are men, 477 are women
- 68% are under 45 years of age
- The median age is 33 years old
- 337 in Dublin, 73 in Cork, 70 in Limerick, 56 in Wexford, 43 in Galway and the remaining 343 cases are spread across all other counties.
As of 8am today, 255 COVID-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 22 are in ICU. 37 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours.
Dr Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health said: “Unfortunately, none of the indicators of this disease are showing encouraging signs. Ireland now has the fastest growing incidence rate in the European Union.”
“This Christmas, the best present you can give your loved ones is to strictly adhere to the public health advice.”
“Make your Christmas safe, meaningful and memorable for the right reasons. Stay home, stay safe and stay well. Limit contact as much as you can and ensure you and your loved ones have a happy and safe Christmas.”
Dr Cillian De Gascun from the National Virus Reference Laboratory said: "Preliminary data would suggest, based on a selection of samples analysed from the weekend, that the novel variant from the UK is present in Ireland.
"However, given the timeline of the samples analysed, it would seem that the novel variant is not solely responsible for the recent increase in case numbers seen in Ireland."
And he added that based on preliminary testing of samples the new strain is being found "predominantly in the east of the country".
However he said that further testing will be needed, with results expected in the coming days.
Today’s cases, 14-day incidence rate per 100,000 population and new cases in last 14 days (as of midnight 23 December 2020) (incidence rate based on Census 2016 county population)
| County | Today's cases (to midnight 23Dec2020) |
14-Day incidence rate per 100,000 population (to 23Dec2020) |
New Cases during last 14 days (to 23Dec2020) |
||||
| Ireland | 922 |
166.0 |
7,906 |
||||
| Donegal | 38 |
324.1 |
516 |
||||
| Wexford | 56 |
291.9 |
437 |
||||
| Louth | 24 |
291.0 |
375 |
||||
| Kilkenny | 28 |
252.9 |
251 |
||||
| Limerick | 70 |
250.4 |
488 |
||||
| Monaghan | <5 |
249.2 |
153 |
||||
| Carlow | 18 |
212.5 |
121 |
||||
| Laois | 12 |
207.8 |
176 |
||||
| Dublin | 337 |
199.4 |
2,687 |
||||
| Kerry | 39 |
189.6 |
280 |
||||
| Cavan | 6 |
186.4 |
142 |
||||
| Meath | 30 |
158.9 |
310 |
||||
| Longford | <5 |
137.0 |
56 |
||||
| Waterford | 22 |
136.0 |
158 |
||||
| Sligo | 10 |
132.8 |
87 |
||||
| Kildare | 21 |
129.9 |
289 |
||||
| Mayo | <5 |
115.7 |
151 |
||||
| Cork | 73 |
98.6 |
535 |
||||
| Galway | 43 |
86.4 |
223 |
||||
| Wicklow | 14 |
82.9 |
118 |
||||
| Tipperary | 33 |
76.5 |
122 |
||||
| Offaly | 6 |
74.4 |
58 |
||||
| Westmeath | 15 |
73.2 |
65 |
||||
| Roscommon | <5 |
57.3 |
37 |
||||
| Clare | 11 |
48.0 |
57 |
||||
| Leitrim | <5 |
43.7 |
14 |
