A spike in Waterford's covid-19 cases due to an outbreak at a meat processing plant has "come under control", according to the acting Chief Medical Officer.
Speaking at last night's press conference Dr Ronan Glynn said: "In Waterford there has been a particular outbreak in one meat processing facility and that accounts for one-third of the cases, but it appears that element has come under control".
After a fortnight in which Waterford saw 114 new cases and its incidence rate shoot to 98.1, there are hopes the numbers have now stabilised.
For the first time since the 11th of September, Waterford was not included in the list of counties with high numbers of new cases in yesterday's figures, however, the county is still being watched closely.
NPHET meeting
Health officials will meet today amid growing concerns over the rise in Covid-19 cases in a number of counties.
NPHET is particularly concerned about Louth, Waterford and Donegal - where a third of recent cases are among 15 to 24 year olds.
30 of yesterday's 234 cases were in Donegal, while a further two deaths were also recorded nationally.
Acting Chief Medical Officer Dr Ronan Glynn said we “can’t have everything that we had eight months ago.”
“Go to your football match but then don’t go to the pub, or go to the pub but don’t go to the football match,” he said.
“Bring your children to the playground, but don’t bring your children to your neighbour’s house down the road. These are choices we all have to make.
“We can’t have everything that we had eight months ago. It’s not the time for house parties, it’s not the time for big communion celebrations, it’s not the time for big family gatherings.”
Intensive Care
There is a "worrying" number of people being admitted to intensive care with Covid-19, public health officials have said.
One to two new admissions are now being seen every day, with a rising number under the age of 45.
The National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET)’s Professor Philip Nolan said the group is noticing a clear pattern: “It’s worrying to begin to report.
“We would have said as cases began to rise several weeks ago that hospitalisations would be delayed and intensive care admissions delayed further.
“So beginning last week but quite clearly this week, we are seeing an increase in the numbers in intensive care and the number of admissions per day.”
