James Cox
13 further Covid-19 related deaths and 938 additional cases have been confirmed in the Republic of Ireland as the country enters new Level 5 restrictions.
Of the deaths reported today, 10 occurred in December.
300 of the new case are in Dublin, 110 in Cork, 72 in Limerick, 68 in Donegal and 41 in Kildare. There are 10 new cases in Waterford.
The 14-day incidence rate is now 153 cases per 100,000 people - it was 88 this day last week.
NPHET has also confirmed that the new Covid-19 variant is now in Ireland.
Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Ronan Glynn says the situation is now at its most serious since last March.
Meanwhile, a senior HSE official has warned that the coronavirus situation in Ireland is deteriorating at a faster pace than anywhere in Europe.
Chief clinical officer Dr Colm Henry said the infection rate is “frightening” and the curve is moving in an almost “vertical direction”.
His analysis came as HSE chief executive Paul Reid warned of “serious and dangerous” levels of transmission that could lead to a “massive surge” in hospital admissions after Christmas.
Dr Henry told the weekly HSE media briefing there could be 1,500 new confirmed cases of the virus a day by the first week in January.
He said: “We received this best or second-best in Europe in terms of a 14-day incidence (rate of the virus), but in terms of our deterioration over the past week, we’re deteriorating at a more rapid pace in seven days than any other country in Europe and so we won’t hold this position for long.”
