There are 4,642 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the Republic of Ireland today, the Department of Health has confirmed.
556 hospital patients have tested positive for the virus, of whom 107 are being treated in ICU.
The five-day moving average of cases has moved up to 4,072 - up from 3,777.
Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan said that current case numbers are currently very high in Ireland and there is a significant risk people could catch the virus:
“We’ve very high levels of transmission of COVID-19 - one of the highest levels we’ve had over the entire course of the pandemic right at the moment,” Dr Holohan said in a video post on social media.
“What we call ‘the force of infection’, which really is the chance of you, if you’re out and about, bumping into this virus is really very, very high.
“And we combine that with the really high levels of socialisation. We’re socialising now across all the activities that we’re doing - workplace, educational, retail, recreational. We’re socialising at levels that are as high as any time in the pandemic. Really at about a level before the pandemic began.
“When you combine both of those two, it’s leading to the very, very significant increases in incidents that we’re seeing across all of the age groups - with the exception of those people who have been through the booster programme, the people over the age of 80.”
Antigen testing
Meanwhile, the National Public Health Emergency Team has said that individuals who engage in activities where they could easily pick up the virus, such as going to the cinema or nightclubs, should consider taking twice weekly antigen tests.
Darragh O'Loughlin, CEO of the Irish Pharmacy Union, said the Government should try and slash the price to encourage more people to take them:
“There’s probably an opportunity here for the HSE or the Government to secure a subsidised supply, or a lower priced supply, and make sure that they can make them, not just available throughout the country, but affordable throughout the country,” Mr O'Loughlin told Newstalk.
“It will turn out expensive if people have to consistently buy two or three of these every week as we go forward. So it’s not just an opportunity, but maybe an obligation for the HSE.”
Listen and subscribe to The Anton Savage Show on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
Download, listen and subscribe on the Newstalk App.
You can also listen to Newstalk live on newstalk.com or on Alexa, by adding the Newstalk skill and asking: 'Alexa, play Newstalk'.
Currently, the tests cost between four and eight euros a pack.
Main image: A medic conducts testing for COVID-19. Picture by: Indiana Air National Guard Staff Sgt. Justin Andras.
