1,846 people are in Irish hospitals with Covid-19 with 173 people in ICU which is the highest amount ever recorded.
According to Professor Philp Nolan of the Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group, the surge in recent times has meant that 44% of all Covid-19 cases ever recorded in Ireland have been confirmed in the past two weeks.
HSE Chief Paul Reid said "People are extremely sick with this virus. Despite some hopeful trends on transmission levels, it’s still hugely prevalent in your area. Please stick with us."
Unfortunately, our #COVID19 hospital cases continue to rise, 1,846 this morning & 171 in ICU. People are extremely sick with this virus. Despite some hopeful trends on transmission levels, it's still hugely prevalent in your area. Please stick with us. @HSELive
— Paul Reid (@paulreiddublin) January 15, 2021
Deputy Chief Medical Officer Ronan Glynn has urged the public to adhere to the public health guidelines.
"The best way we can protect ourselves and each other is by staying home and only leaving home for essential journeys. We have the power to change the trajectory of the disease in our communities. We must hold firm and continue to stay home."
New figures indicate that per 100 people, Ireland has vaccinated the second highest amount of people in the EU, behind Denmark. The latest figures show that 77,303 people in Ireland have received their first dose of a vaccine.
The vaccine figures will be updated daily and are due to be added to the Covid Tracker Ireland app soon.
The European Medical Agency are hoping to approve the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine by the end of the month, which will allow Ireland to vaccinate 100,000 people per week as Ireland aims to have 4 million people vaccinated by September.
However, Covid-19 is wreaking havoc on the Irish health service. Dr. Conor Deasy, a consultant in emergency medicine at Cork University Hospital said staff are "under a lot of pressure".
Speaking to RTÉ, Deasy said "Basically every patient and colleague in the hospital right now potentially has Covid."
Yesterday, 3,955 cases and 28 deaths were confirmed by the HSE. There has now been a total of 163, 057 cases confirmed since the start of the pandemic with 2,488 people sadly losing their life to Covid-19.
It has also been announced this morning that the three week period between doses will be extended to four weeks. This will allow more people to receive their first dose quicker.
Pfizer have also announced that shipments of their vaccine will be slowed down in the coming weeks in order for the company to improve their manufacturing process which will allow them to produce more vaccine throughout the year.
For the latest news and up to date figures on Covid-19, check out the Government's website here.
