Independent
Covid inpatient numbers in Ireland have increased by almost 50 as the country recorded another daily total of confirmed cases in excess of 10,000.
As of Sunday morning, 426 patients were in hospital with the virus – a rise of 48 from Christmas Day.
The number requiring ICU treatment increased from 87 to 91 in the same 24-hour period.
A further 10,404 confirmed cases of virus were reported in Ireland on Sunday.
A record 13,765 cases of the virus were notified on Christmas Day, up from the 11,182 announced on Friday.
The latest figures were outlined after chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan urged people to reduce their contacts in response to the rising case numbers.
The Department of Health said “large volumes” of case numbers were anticipated over the coming period.
On Friday, around 83% of the reported cases were believed to be the Omicron variant.
Dr Holohan emphasised that Omicron was more transmissible than Delta and urged that everyone continued to reduce contacts and avoid crowded places as much as possible.
“We know that this variant is more transmissible than even the highly transmissible Delta variant,” he said.
“As such, please do not socialise or meet indoors with people from…
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