Ireland's daily Covid cases surge to record high

Ireland's daily Covid-19 cases has surged to a record high since February of this year, according to official figures.

The Irish Department of Health said in a statement that there were 1,378 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 reported in the country on Wednesday, reports Xinhua news agency.

This is the highest daily number of cases recorded in Ireland since January 31 of this year when a total of 1,414 cases were reported in the country on the day, according to data from the World Health Organization.

"Disease incidence in Ireland is continuing to increase," said Ronan Glynn, deputy chief medical officer with the Department, said.

The five-day moving average of cases in the country has increased from 300 to 1,182 cases per day over the past month, he said.

On Wednesday, Glynn also told local media that changes in the number of people admitted to hospital and intensive care units (ICU) lag behind changes in the disease profile in the community.

"We will see a significant increase in both over the coming weeks if incidence continues to rise," he warned.

Till date, there were 96 Covid-19 patients hospitalised in Ireland, of which 22 were in ICU, according to the Irish Department of Health.

Earlier in the month, Tony Holohan, chief medical officer of the Irish Department of Health, said that Delta variant accounted for over 70 per cent of the new confirmed cases in the country.