Four deaths and 344 new cases of Covid-19 as infections soar past 70,000

It brings the total number of confirmed cases to 70,143 while the death toll stands at 2,022.

Validation of data at the Health Protection Surveillance Centre has resulted in the denotification of three cases, resulting in the adjusted total of 70,143.

A total of 269 people have been hospitalised with the virus, 32 of whom are in ICU. 12 people were hospitalised in the last 24 hours.

The breakdown of cases is as follows:

• 156 are men / 185 are women
• 69% are under 45 years of age
• The median age is 32 years old
• 127 cases are in Dublin, 46 in Cork, 26 in Louth, 22 in Donegal, 20 in Limerick and the remaining 103 cases are spread across 20 other counties.

Donegal has the highest 14-day incidence rate per 100,000 of the population, followed by Limerick and then Louth.