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Covid-19: 448 new cases, 8 further deaths

The number of patients in ICU is unchanged at 34
The number of patients in ICU is unchanged at 34

The Department of Health has reported 448 new cases of Covid-19 and eight further deaths.

The number of patients in hospital with coronavirus now stands at 109.

34 of those patients are receiving treatment in ICU.

There were 12 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours.

Three of the deaths reported today occurred in March, two in February, and three in January or earlier.

The median age of those who died was 82 years and the age range was 40 - 92 years.

The total number of Covid-related deaths in Ireland now stands at 4,937.

Today's new cases involve 213 men and 230 women, with 78% under 45 years of age.

229 cases were in Dublin, 38 in Meath, 35 in Kildare, 34 in Cork, 16 in Limerick and the remaining 96 cases are spread across 16 other counties.

There now has been a total of 254,013 confirmed Covid cases here.

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Meanwhile, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has raised the possibility that a Covid-19 vaccine appointment could be offered to anyone who wants one by the end of June.

At a private online meeting of Fine Gael TDs, Senators and MEPs tonight, Mr Varadkar is understood to have said he made this assumption on the basis of statistics from other countries, which suggest that as many as 15% of people decline vaccination offers.

The Tánaiste also said a decision on any potential return to indoor dining in July would not be made until June but he was hopeful it would return with six to a table, contact details taken and allowances made for the size of venues.

It comes as figures show that less than 1% of people deemed to be in the high-risk Group 7 for Covid-19 have received a vaccine so far.

The HSE also said it appeared likely that some people in Group 7 may have been categorised incorrectly in the computer system as being in Group 4 when they got their first dose.

Earlier, new data from the HSE showed confirmed Covid-19 cases have dropped by over a quarter in second level schools.

There was a 27% decrease in the number of infections detected in the 13-18 years age group, down from 399 to 291 cases.

The only age category to show a rise in figures was amongst primary school children aged 5-12 years, with 56 more cases detected - an increase of 14% from 390 to 446.

Meanwhile, the Road Safety Authority and An Garda Síochána are asking all road users to take care and be more alert as restrictions on inter-county travel are lifted.

The 'Road Back' campaign was launched today with road users being urged to be extra cautious as traffic volumes return to normal.

In Northern Ireland, the Department of Health reported no further deaths of patients who had previously tested positive for coronavirus.

113 new cases of the disease have been confirmed in the past 24 hours.

On Wednesday morning there were 50 patients in hospital who were Covid positive, of whom four were in intensive care.