BREAKING: Sharp rise in case numbers and Covid-19 incidence as Limerick figures released

THERE has been a sharp daily increase in confirmed Covid-19 cases across Limerick, figures out this evening reveal.

Data from the Department of Health reveal there has been 24 new confirmed cases of the disease, with Limerick seeing the fourth largest rise across the State.

While the national 14-day incidence rate has fallen to 128.1 from 129 per 100,000 people, Limerick's rate has gone in the other direction - up from 110.3 yesterday to 111.3 today.

The five-day moving average now stands at 17 and in total, 217 new cases have been reported over the last fortnight in Limerick.

Nationally, the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) has today been notified of nine additional deaths related to Covid-19. It means since the onset of the pandemic in March 2020, there has now been 4,929 coronavirus-related deaths across the State.

Some 379 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 have also been recorded, taking the total to 253,567.

Of today's new cases, 190 are men and 185 are women.

Seventy-seven per cent of cases are in people under the age of 45, with an average age of 39.

The majority of the new cases- 171 - are once again reported in Dublin,followed by 28 in Kildare, 27 in Donegal, 24 in Limerick, and 22 in Cork.

The remaining 107 cases are spread across 18 other counties including six in Tipperary and less than five each in Kerry and Clare.

As of 8am today, 117 Covid-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 34 are in intensive care. There has been 20 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours.

As of Sunday May 9, 1,848,747 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine have been administered in Ireland.

Some 1,347,561 people have received their first dose and 501,186 people have had their second dose.

Chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan said: "This week is a hopeful week and one that we have all been looking forward to. We have gotten to this point by working together in following the public health advice and reducing incidence of disease in our communities. We need to continue to focus on the measures that we know can protect ourselves and our loved ones from Covid-19 - we can plan to meet friends and family where it is safe to do so and those who have been vaccinated can have confidence in their vaccine. They are now able to get out and about and enjoy the benefits of the vaccine."

"The two primary targets as we try to exit the pandemic are vaccination and low transmission. If we can keep cases low and continue to vaccinate as many people as possible, we will find ourselves in a very different risk environment where we can see further easing of measures. Our task now is to keep the disease under control by following the basic measures and taking up our vaccine when it is offered to us," he said.