A further 101 deaths of Covid-19 patients have been reported by the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet), the highest daily figure reported during the pandemic.
The deaths reported on Tuesday included that of a 19-year-old, one of the youngest victims of Covid-19.
There have now been 3,418 Covid-19 deaths in total in the Republic.
Nphet says 83 of the deaths occurred in January and 18 in February. The median age of those who died was 85 years and they ranged in age from 19 to 103.
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Nphet also reported 879 confirmed cases of the disease, bringing to 198,424 the total number of cases in the Republic.
Of the new cases, 383 were in Dublin, 79 in Cork, 53 in Galway, 40 in Limerick and 43 in Meath, with the remaining 290 cases spread across 20 other counties.
The median age of case was 41 years and 56 per cent were under 45.
Tuesday’s case number lowest since December 28th.
The 14-day incidence of the disease now stands at 455 cases per 100,000 people nationally, down from 476 the previous day. Monaghan has the highest county incidence, followed by Waterford and Carlow. Roscommon has the lowest incidence.
On Tuesday afternoon, there were 1,388 Covid-19 patients in hospital, down 48 on the previous day. This included 207 in intensive care, the same as on Monday. There were 45 additional hospitalisations in the previous 24 hours.
Chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan said the high mortality we are experiencing as a country at the moment is related to the surge of infection of several weeks ago, with hospitalisations and admissions to ICU following as a direct result.
“Although we have seen great improvement in the level of infection being reported, we have a long way to go and incidence needs to decline much further. The best way to honour those who have died from Covid-19, and those who loved them or provided care for them, is to follow the public health advice. Stay at home unless absolutely necessary, and encourage your friends, family and colleagues to do the same.
“What we can have control over today is the outlook of this disease in the weeks to come. Your positive actions matter, and they add up at a collective level. Please keep it up.”
Opinion poll
Separately, polling carried out for the Government shows Irish people are more bored, frustrated and lonely now than at any point during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Levels of happiness are at the lowest point yet, while intolerance has reached a high point, the Amarach Research tracker for the Department of Health shows.
Since the start of the pandemic, the research has tracked public opinion weekly. One set of questions gauges people’s emotional wellbeing by asking about the emotions they experienced the previous day.
In the latest update, carried out last Monday, a record 43 per cent of the population said they were experiencing boredom, more than twice the level reported when restrictions were lifted at the start of December and marginally higher than during the March/April lockdown last year.
Levels of worry – reported now by 37 per cent of people – are lower than during the first surge, while 39 per cent say they have experienced enjoyment, about the same as last spring.
However, levels of reported happiness have fallen consistently since June, from 40 per cent to 28 per cent.
Thirty per cent of those surveyed had experienced sadness, compared with the 19 per cent recorded last summer. The 34 per cent reporting frustration is also at a 10-month high.
One-quarter of people (26 per cent) say they are experiencing loneliness, compared with 15 per cent last summer. Eleven per cent described feeling intolerant.
Levels of fear and worry, however, have dropped since cases peaked last month.
Nphet letter
In its latest letter to the Government, Nphet warned that progress in reducing the level of Covid-19 in Ireland was "particularly fragile" and called for greater focus on compliance with rules on self-isolation.
In the letter sent to Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly last week, Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan said that despite recent improvements, "progress in terms of case number reduction should be seen as particularly fragile at this time with a critical need to sustain over the coming weeks".
The current situation represents “an ongoing and significant threat to all key public health priorities”, Dr Holohan wrote.
“While the extraordinary efforts of the people of Ireland are currently being maintained, much more progress must be achieved and sustained over the coming weeks in suppressing this disease in our communities in order to significantly mitigate its profound detrimental impact on all key public health priorities.”
The letter also contained advice on “key areas requiring clear and concerted communication”, including the risk factors for spreading the disease and super spreader events, at home socialising and unnecessary attendance at work.
It recommended that there should be a focus on increasing compliance with self-isolation, “with strong consideration as to whether the current supports offered to people self-isolating are sufficient for maximising compliance with this key behaviour”.
The letter warned that there was “extreme pressure on critical care”.
The fragility of the situation, Dr Holohan wrote, was “underscored” by the increasing dominance of the UK variant B117 which he said was “substantially more transmissible”. According to the letter, the prevalence of the variant had risen from 58 per cent in the second week of the year to 63 per cent the following week.
There continued to be a very significant impact on the most vulnerable in society, Dr Holohan wrote, with high incidence in long-term care settings and among vulnerable groups. “As a consequence of of both the number and scale of outbreaks in these settings, we are continuing to see high levels of mortality.”
According to the letter, Nphet has reviewed the evidence for the role of vitamin D in favourable outcomes for those infected with Covid-19. While it found that there was “circumstantial evidence... to suggest an association, to date there is insufficient high-quality evidence to support any change to existing recommendations”.
