Ireland's daily Covid-19 cases top 3,000

Dublin, Nov 3 (IANS) Ireland's daily Covid-19 cases have surpassed the 3,000 mark for the first time since mid-January of this year, official data showed.

The Irish Department of Health said a total of 3,726 new confirmed cases were reported on Tuesday, up by nearly 31 per cent from Monday's 2,855 cases.

The country saw a spike in Covid-19 cases with the daily count averaging over 2,700 in the last six days, the fastest pace since the middle of this January, Xinhua news agency reported.

Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer with the Department of Health, urged all those who still need to get their Covid-19 vaccine to do so to prevent severe illness and hospitalizations.

There are still an estimated 3,00,000 people in Ireland who have not been vaccinated, said Irish Deputy Prime Minister Leo Varadkar in a recent interview with local media.

People aged 60-79 have already started to receive their booster shots. And the booster program will be extended to frontline healthcare workers, said Irish Health Minister Stephen Donnelly on Monday.

He also called on the Dail, the top Legislature in Ireland, to extend the Covid-19-related emergency legislation by another three months after it expires on November 9, according to Irish national radio and broadcaster RTE.

Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin said on Tuesday that there were no guarantees that the Covid-19 restrictions would not be re-introduced, according to RTE.

On October 22, the Irish government removed most of the restrictions in the country. Only a few now remain in place, including social distancing in crowded places, wearing face masks in indoor settings and on public transport, and requirements of digital Covid-19 certificates for entry into certain indoor facilities.