56 deaths and 574 new confirmed cases in Ireland

HEALTH OFFICIALS have confirmed that another 56 people have died with Covid-19 in Ireland.

The total number of people with the virus in Ireland who have now died is 4,237.

The National Public Health Emergency Team also said 574 new cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed, bringing the total number of cases in Ireland to date to 216,870.

31 of the 56 deaths reported today occurred in February, 13 occurred in January, three in December or earlier, while another nine are under investigation.

The average age of those who died was 82 and the age range was 16 to 97.

Of the cases reported today:

• 285 are men and 287 are women
• 67% are under 45
• The average age is 34 years.
• 175 cases are in Dublin, 57 are in Limerick, 43 are in Kildare, 37 are in Galway, 35 are in Meath and the remaining 227 cases are spread over 18 other counties.

At 8 a.m. today, 652 Covid-19 patients are hospitalized, of which 137 are in the ICU. There have been 35 additional hospitalizations in the last 24 hours.

As of February 21, 353,971 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine had been administered in Ireland. A total of 222,073 people have received their first dose and 131,898 people have received their second dose.

“We continue to see good progress, but this must be sustained. It is vital that our children return to school in the coming weeks. A key part of making this a success will be our continued collective acceptance of tried and tested public health measures. Stay home, work from home whenever possible, ”said Dr. Ronan Glynn, Deputy Medical Director.

“Given the increasing transmissibility of the virus now, we must continue to limit our social contacts and do everything possible to deprive this disease of opportunities to spread.”

With reporting by Stephen McDermott