Covid cases jump in past week with 1042 confirmed
The number of confirmed covid-19 cases in Ireland has increased by 60% in the past week, according to the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC).
Latest figures show there were 1,042 confirmed cases recorded from June 16 to June 22, a jump from the 650 that were reported the previous week.
The HPSC is now describing the transmission levels here as "moderate to high" as it recorded three deaths linked to the virus.
The number of hospitalised cases also increased by 56% during the past week. Last week, 486 people were hospitalised with covid, compared to 321 during the preceding week.
However, ICU admissions resulting from the virus remained "low and stable".
Outbreaks in healthcare settings in the past week increased by 14 to 62, compared to 48 outbreaks a week earlier.
There were 22 outbreaks in acute hospitals, 22 in nursing homes, two in community hospital/long stay units, two in other healthcare settings and 14 residential outbreaks notified.
The JN.1 variant remains the dominant strain of covid in Ireland at the moment, while the KP.3 variant, a sublineage of JN.1 is increasing.
KP.3 appears to have a growth advantage over other variants, but there is no evidence that it, or JN.1, is associated with a more severe disease.
According to the HPSC, the current wave is a reminder covid "continues to circulate throughout the year" and remains a "considerable burden" on the population and health services when circulation is high.
The current advice is if you have any covid symptoms, even mild ones, stay at home until 48 hours after your symptoms are mostly or fully gone.
You should also avoid contact with other people, especially people at higher risk of severe covid.
