Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan has again appealed to the public to cut back on socialising as covid-19 case numbers continue to rise.
As the festive season approaches, which is traditionally a time to reunite and catch up with family and friends, the CMO has urged people to be mindful of the amount of people they are socalising with as the public are now more likely to ‘run into’ the virus than at any other point in the pandemic.
Dr Holohan said: “If you are planning to meet up with people, try and reduce those contacts by half.
“If you are planning to go out two nights, just go out once. If you are planning to have 10 people around, have just five.”
This comes as Public Health Mid West, which covers Limerick, Clare and North Tipperary also asked people to curb their socialising amidst increasing numbers presenting to University Hospital Limerick (UHL) and rising virus incidence in the region.
UHL had just one free intensive care bed available yesterday.
The Limerick hospital continues to struggle with overcrowing, with 30 people waiting on a bed according to the latest Trolley Watch figures.
Tipperary University Hospital (formerly South Tipperary General Hospital) is faring better however, with no one waiting on a bed, according to the INMO.
Yesterday, 2,975 new covid cases were confirmed, with 74 deaths notified in the past week.
For updated and factual Public Health information and advice on COVID-19 Coronavirus, please visit hse.ie/coronavirus or call 1800 700 700
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