Increase in COVID19 related hospitalisations recorded

409 people are in hospital with Covid-19 today, the highest in over seven months.

It's 49 more than yesterday, after 36 patients were admitted in the space of 24 hours.

The peak during the second wave, in October, was 354, and NPHET says hospitalisations are increasing 'earlier and faster' in the third wave.

Here in Cork the latest figures show every area has seen an increase in cases, between December 7th and 21st 364 cases were confirmed on Leeside.

Infectious Disease Specialist at the RCSI Professor Sam McConkey says the over 400 people in hospital will be quite unwell, "People only really go to hospital now if they're quite sick especially over Christmas. So those 400 people that you've described, more than 400 in hospital, you know, truly, truly are unwell enough to be in hospital, need oxygen, hopefully getting all steroids, getting some heparin, so there's a lot that can be done to help people in hospital, there's benefit to being there if you're sick.."