There were 4,842 new cases of Covid-19 and nine further deaths reported by the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) on Saturday. The five-day daily average of cases is 6,547.

Almost 1,300 people with Covid-19 are being treated in hospital this weekend with the head of the HSE saying this number will continue to rise.

Latest figures show 102 patients were admitted to hospital in the past 24 hours with coronavirus, bringing the total number to 1,293. Another 14 have been admitted to intensive care units, bringing the total most severely ill with the virus to 119.

Hospital Report

The 14-day incidence rate of Covid-19 per 100,000 population nationally is 1,162. This means more than one in 100 people in the State have had a positive test in the past fortnight. The incidence rate is over 2,000 per 100,000 in Monaghan and Louth and over 1,000 in 13 counties (Limerick, Waterford, Cavan, Dublin, Donegal, Cork, Clare, Wexford, Mayo, Carlow, Sligo, Meath, Kilkenny)

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Of cases notified on Saturday, 1,049 are in Dublin, 530 in Cork, 514 in Waterford, 405 in Wexford, 247 in Louth and the remaining 2,097 cases are spread across all other counties.

Earlier Dr Cillian de Gascun, director of the National Virus Reference Laboratory said the three cases of the South African variant of Covid-19 discovered in Ireland have been contained,

“They have been contained, they have been controlled, they have been contact traced, and to the best of my knowledge at this stage, there was no onward transmission,” he told RTÉ Radio One’s Saturday with Katie Hannon.

However, Dr de Gascun said the variant remains a concern because its mutations could impact on how the vaccines work, but he added that this was a “theoretical risk at this point in time”.

Dr de Gascun, a member of Nphet, urged anyone with “travel exposure” to South Africa in the last 28 days to “come forward and make themselves known”.

Nphet announced on Friday that three cases of the South African variant of Covid-19 have been detected for the first time in Ireland. All were associated with recent travel. Nphet appealed for healthcare workers who travelled from South Africa to self-isolate for 14 days.

The South African strain emerged in August in South Africa’s eastern Cape region, before spreading to other provinces as infections accelerated in recent weeks.

The new variant has been linked to the surge in Covid cases in South Africa and health experts fear that it is not only more infectious than previous forms of the virus but could make some vaccines less effective.

Paul Reid, chief executive of the Health Service Executive (HSE), said on Saturday the figures will continue to surge.

“Saving lives and protecting more people (from) getting sick is our priority. But, in time, the huge sacrifices everyone is making will work.”

Minister of State for Health Mary Butler described the trajectory of infections as “extremely serious”.

“The current situation is extremely serious. Every day we see figures increasing at an exponential rate and they are always worse than the previous day. But everything that can possibly be done is being done,” she said.

Health sources said that hospitals were preparing to use ventilators outside intensive care units if the ICUs reach capacity in the next week. The health service has about 400 ICU beds but has access to about 1,800 ventilators.

Ministers and senior officials say next week will see the most severe test of the health service since the pandemic began as a proportion of the very high numbers of positive cases reported since Christmas will become seriously ill and require hospital care.