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49 new cases reported in Wexford

49 new cases reported in Wexford

Tomas Doherty & Kevin Galvin

A further 66 deaths and 1,078 new cases of Covid-19 have been recorded in the Republic.

Some 41 of these deaths occurred in February, eight occurred in January, seven in December and nine occurred in November or earlier.

Of the new cases, 433 were in Dublin, 139 in Galway, 52 in Limerick, 49 in Limerick, 43 in Mayo and the remaining 362 cases spread across all other counties.

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Wexford has the highest case figures in the South-East with 49.

37 new cases have been confirmed in Waterford, 19 in Carlow, while 15 further cases have been in Tipperary.

Kilkenny has the lowest new case figure with six.

The latest figures show 898 Covid-19 patients are in hospital, with 171 in intensive care.

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Monaghan has the highest incidence rate in the country at 526 cases per 100,000, followed by Dublin at 377 and Waterford at 374.

It comes as Taoiseach Micheál Martin urged the public to keep their guard up and “protect the hard won progress as those vaccines are rolled out”.

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Mr Martin said: “The recent spike in cases has pushed our frontline healthcare workers to the limit. But they have persevered.

“There is hope of better times to come. Cases are falling and vaccines are here.

“Over the next few months we must protect the hard won progress as those vaccines are rolled out, starting with our most vulnerable citizens.

“Now is not the time to drop our guard. Now is the time to stick to the basics.”

Almost 5,000 Covid-19 vaccines are being administered to doctors and practice nurses at mass vaccination centres across the country this weekend.

The HSE is hoping that the vast majority of them will have had at least their first dose of the vaccine over the next two days.

The Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines are being given at centres in Dublin, Portlaoise and Galway, with 1,800 expected to receive their second dose.

Meanwhile, a further 303 people have tested positive for Covid-19 in the past 24 hours in Northern Ireland, according to the region's Department of Health.

Another 10 deaths were reported, bringing the total number of deaths linked to the virus in the North to 1,985.

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