A record 7,836 cases of Covid 19 have been reported today and 17 additional deaths.
2,263 of the cases are in Dublin, 1,373 in Cork, 496 in Louth, 345 in Limerick, 340 in Meath and the remaining 3,019 cases are spread across all other counties.
As of this afternoon 954 COVID-19 patients are in hospital - the highest number since the beginning of the pandemic.
88 patients are being treated in ICU.
Chief Medical Officer Dr. Tony Holohan says there is evidence of an increasing presence of the UK variant here and we are likely to see more deaths and ICU admissions in the coming days and weeks.
In Longford, 78 new cases have been confirmed - a sharp contrast to Tuesday's figure of just five.
In Roscommon, 25 new cases have been confirmed and 24 in Leitrim.
