Health Officials have reported 938 new cases of Coronavirus and 13 covid related deaths today.
300 of those are in County Dublin, 110 in Cork, 72 in Limerick, 68 in Donegal, 41 in Kildare.
While the rest (347 cases) are spread across 21 other counties, see the table further down this post.
The 7 day incidence 104.7 and the 5 day moving average 785.
Additionally, Ireland Reproductive number is estimated to be between 1.5 and 1.8.
BREAKING: 938 new cases of #COVID19 confirmed and 13 additional deaths
— Stephen Murphy (@StephenMNews) December 23, 2020
Covid 19 Hospital Figures
At 2pm today there was 251 people with the disease in hospitals around the country.
25 of those are in ICU.
That means 24 more people were admitted to hospital in the last 24 hours.
Situation Is "The Most Serious Since March"
Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr. Ronan Glynn has issued a stark warning, saying the situation is the most serious since last March.
That's when the pandemic came to Ireland.
He said: The epidemiological situation reviewed today is the most serious it has been since last March."
"People should act at all times as if they or those they come into contact with are infectious."
"The disease has spread across all parts of the country and all age groups, we must act now to protect each other.”
“It is inevitable that people will get sick and die as a result of this escalation."
"But it is not too late for all of us to do all we can to minimise that impact and to protect as many people as possible."
— Stephen Murphy (@Stephen_Murphy5) December 23, 2020
UK Mutation Is Present Here According To Early Data
NPHET's Dr Cillian De Gascun says early data suggests the variant of Covid 19 that's been spreading quickly in the UK is here.
However he says that's not the only thing driving the recent surge in cases:
“Preliminary data would suggest, based on a selection of samples analysed from the weekend, that the novel variant from the UK is present in Ireland."
"However, given the timeline of the samples analysed, it would seem that the novel variant is not solely responsible for the recent increase in case numbers seen in Ireland.”
