There are 2,427 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ireland today, the Department of Health has said. 

449 hospital patients have tested positive for the virus, of whom 93 are being treated in ICU. 

The five-day moving average of new cases is now 2,294 - up from 2,124 on Friday. 

Yesterday Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said that case numbers were increasing in other European countries too, but that the rise could be managed: 

“We also see in places like Israel and the United States that Delta waves can be overcome. And our objective is to get through this second peak of Delta here in Ireland without having to impose restrictions. 

“But that does involve people following the advice as best they can.” 

Similarly, Taoiseach Micheál Martin told The Anton Savage Show earlier today: “If we all collectively behave and what I mean by that is just watch ourselves, [be a] bit more cautious about how we go about in congregations and so on like that, we can pull this back - particularly if people get vaccinated.”

Walk-in clinics

40 walk-in vaccination clinics are open across the country over the bank holiday weekend. 

The HSE’s vaccination lead, Damien McCallion, says the organisation is running a campaign targeting areas with lower vaccination rates than the rest of the country: 

“Firstly, we’ve identified some small local electoral areas where perhaps the uptake is just slightly less than some other parts of the country. 

“All of this of course is in the context that Ireland remains with one of the highest vaccine uptakes in Europe.

“Those are areas such as the border counties, also in parts of Dublin and in Kerry. And again, in all those areas we will have campaigns running identifying pharmacies locally that are available to people. 

“And again trying to make information available to people to encourage them to come forward.” 

Main image: A woman tests blood for COVID-19 Picture by: Wdnet Studio / Alamy Stock Photo