Record 23,817 new Covid cases announced as updated digital certs to be issued

The previous highest daily case toll was 23,281 on January 1.

There were 941 people in hospital with Covid-19 as of 8am this morning, of whom 90 were in ICU.

This is the most people in hospital with the virus since February 2, while ICU numbers have been relatively steady in the past number of weeks.

Close to 2.3m people have received a booster in Ireland and they will begin receiving an updated Digital Covid Certificate (DCC) from the government this evening.

The vast majority of these will be issued to people via email, and the process will begin on Thursday evening, Minister of State Ossian Smyth confirmed.

The process will take a number of days, and people are advised to check their email.

This service is available ahead of the new EU rules which will come into effect from 1 February 2022, with a new nine-month maximum validity period for EU Digital Covid Certs based on a completed primary vaccination regime.

The Department of Health said similar validity periods on vaccination certificates for use to access pubs and restaurants are not currently planned by the Government.

“An updated DCC will be on its way to everyone who has availed of the booster dose. This is an important document to ensure a smooth travel experience for anyone leaving the country in the coming months.

"The updated DCC will contain a QR code, as before, and the cert can be stored on the Covid Tracker App, replacing the old cert,” Minister Smyth said.