Dr Tony Holohan has said he is "concerned" about the rise in the number of hospital cases in Ireland - as a further 17,656 cases of the coronavirus were confirmed in Ireland.
As of 8am today, 928 Covid-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 94 are in ICU.
That's an increase of over 300 from this day last week, where hospital cases stood at 568.
There has been a total of 5,952 deaths related to Covid-19 notified in Ireland.
This includes 40 deaths newly notified in the past week (since last Wednesday).
Speaking as the cases were confirmed, Dr Holohan said: “It is concerning to see the rising number of people with Covid-19 in hospital. This means that our collective efforts to follow the public health advice remain very important. I know that many have sacrificed valuable time with friends and family to protect themselves and the wider community. These continued efforts are helping to slow the spread of this virus and will protect many from infection in the next few weeks."
Dr Holohan once again pleaded with the public to get vaccinated, including those of us waiting for a booster.
He said: "The Covid-19 vaccine booster will protect the majority of people from severe disease. The booster programme is now open to everyone aged 16 and over. If you are not yet fully vaccinated or are yet to receive a booster dose, please take this opportunity to protect yourself as soon as possible.
"The best way for all of us to stay safe and to continue to protect our loved ones over the coming weeks is to isolate immediately if symptomatic, to keep your social contacts as low as possible, to avoid high risk activities and poorly ventilated environments and to continue to follow all of the public health measures that we know can stop the spread of Covid-19."
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