There have been another 4,667 new cases of COVID-19 cases reported in Ireland today.
That brings the five-day moving average of new cases to 4,192.
Four more cases of the Omicron variant have also been confirmed in Ireland, bringing the total to date to ten.
Ten cases of Omicron have now also been reported in Northern Ireland, after five more were reported on Sunday.
Omicron cases have been rising rapidly in the UK, with 1,239 new cases reported on Sunday (the vast majority in England) - nearly double the figure recorded on Saturday.
Hospital numbers and boosters
As of 8am this morning, there were 504 patients with COVID-19 being treated in Irish hospitals.
That’s up from 481 yesterday - however, hospital numbers typically increase at weekends due to delayed discharges.
The @hpscireland has today been notified of 4,667* confirmed cases of #COVID19. @roinnslainte can confirm that four additional cases of Omicron variant have been detected, bringing to 10 the total number of cases that have been identified following whole genome sequencing.
— Department of Health (@roinnslainte) December 12, 2021
The number of patients with the virus in ICU has fallen from 111 yesterday to 109 today.
Booster vaccination has been continuing this weekend, with everyone aged 50 or older now eligible for a third dose if five months have passed since their second.
Some COVID-19 walk-in vaccination centres have been reporting long queues throughout the weekend.
Walk-in centres in Galway and Simonstown had wait times of 120 minutes or more today.
However, people getting booster jabs in Citywest, Ennis, Bantry and Monaghan face short queues or none though.
The HSE has urged people to check waiting times at its social media channels before heading out to a clinic.
