922 cases and 8 more deaths were reported

There were 922 cases of Covid-19 reported by the Ministry of Health, with 8 Covid-related deaths.

Currently, there are a total of 2,192 Covid-19-related deaths in Ireland and a total of 83,073 confirmed cases.

Of the cases reported today, 438 are male and 477 are female. More than two-thirds of cases involve people under the age of 45.

Of these cases, 337 were in Dublin, 73 in Cork, 70 in Limerick, 56 in Wexford and 43 in Galway. The remaining 343 cases have spread to all other counties.

As of this morning, 255 people are being treated at the hospital, 22 of whom are in the intensive care unit.

Unfortunately, the Chief Medical Officer states that none of the indicators of the disease show promising signs.

“Ireland currently has the fastest-growing incidence in the European Union,” said Dr. Tony Holohan.

He also said that the “best gift” people can give to their loved ones this Christmas is to adhere to public health advice.

“Make your Christmas safe, meaningful and memorable for the right reason. Stay at home, safe and healthy. Limit contact as much as possible and have a happy and safe Christmas for you and your loved ones. Please be able to spend it. “

It said the senior cabinet minister “is likely to stick” to the next level 5 limit, despite a request from the National Public Health Emergency Team to shut down non-essential retailers. Later.

The story of the latest coronavirus

You can make your own Christmas safe, meaningful and memorable for the right reason. Stay at home, safely and well. Please limit contact as much as possible. Be careful. Watch out for others. Follow our public health advice. Have a very happy Christmas. @roinnslainte @HSELive

— Dr. Tony Holohan (@CMOIreland) December 24, 2020

In a warning about the increase in the number of cases of Covid-19, NPHET said he did not think the new measures were sufficient to reduce the number sufficiently.

The team made further recommendations to the government, including that non-essential retail should be closed from the day of St. Stephen.

Meanwhile, some companies will be closed from 3 pm today due to further restrictions.

Health officials say they are seriously concerned about the surge in cases in all age groups and are concerned about the increase in the number of hospitalized people.

Restaurants and gastropubs need to be closed for indoor dining and can only offer takeaway and delivery.

Hairdressers, nail bars, cinemas, galleries and museums also need to be closed.

NPHET recommended this move after being concerned about the rapidly increasing number of new cases.

Initial testing found evidence that a more contagious British variant of Covid-19 may have been in Ireland for at least two weeks.

However, NPHET said the increase in cases was likely associated with the resumption of hospitality, and at the beginning of the month more people could gather in the indoor environment.

“We are on the rise,” said the chair of the NPHET Epidemiological Modeling Advisory Group, and the virus is spreading rapidly.

Professor Philip Nolan said he didn’t think the measures introduced today were sufficient to control the virus, this time becoming “very fast and very difficult” in January in the next few days. Will determine what will happen to the virus.

Talking about RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, he urged people to keep numbers to a minimum and not spend too much time together, as it is a long gathering in an indoor environment where virus control is lost.

Professor Nolan said that if people are out and doing a lot of things lately, they should stay away from loved ones who may be vulnerable.

Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said the government had made important decisions about the virus and introduced restrictions.

For the same program, he said the government would consider NPHET’s advice, although it felt that non-essential retailing did not affect the spread of the virus.

Mr Coveny said it was not a mistake to relax the restrictions in early December, and said those decisions were made with advice from NPHET.

He said no one expected to make the decisions they made this week, but the evidence and data about the virus are constantly changing.

Additional Report Fergal O’Brien