COVID-19 LATEST: 57 more deaths and 650 new cases

The Department of Health has been notified of an additional 650 cases of Covid-19, while 57 further deaths have been recorded. 

Dr. Ronan Glynn, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health said; “Although we have made great progress, the situation remains precarious.

“Almost 90% of cases in Ireland are the B117 variant. The increased transmissibility of this variant is apparent in the current profile of the disease in households, with one in three household contacts of a confirmed case testing positive for COVID-19.

"This underlines the need for people to exercise caution in households and other settings. In particular, people should isolate immediately on experiencing any symptoms and contact their GP.”

There were 46 cases in Kildare.

HSE figures also show that the number of cases in hospitals continues to reduce, down around 200 from this day last week.

The number is ICU stands at 154, compared to 173 this day last week.

Meanwhile, the number of outbreaks has reduced slightly in the last week to 200, compared with 209 the previous week.

The biggest rise was seen in private houses/family outbreaks, which increased to 91 last week, compared with 71 the week before.

Workplace outbreaks reduced, as did outbreaks in hospitals and nursing homes. There was a small rise in retail outbreaks from two to six last week.

Separately, Dr Glynn advised that Ireland is on target to see between 200-400 cases a day by the start of March, once certain conditions are met regarding the spread of the virus.

In a letter to Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly, Dr Glynn said cases could reduce to 100-300 a day, by the middle of next month.