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12th Jul 2021

600 new cases of Covid-19 confirmed across Ireland

Clara Kelly

64 people are in hospital with the virus and 16 are in ICU.

As of midnight on Sunday 11 July, the Department of Health has been notified of 600 new cases of Covid-19.

Of the 600 cases, 64 are in hospital and 16 are in intensive care units.

According to the Department, daily case numbers may change due to future data review, validation and update

It comes as HSE Chief Paul Reid has said that the Health Service Executive (HSE) is considering using antigen tests for close contacts of confirmed Covid-19 cases.

Speaking on RTÉ’s This Week on Sunday, Reid said the health service is “extremely busy” adding that nobody wants to see a return to “the dark days of January” where over 2,000 people were in hospital with the virus.

He said that while the success of Ireland’s vaccine rollout programme is a reason to be optimistic, the National Public Health Emergency Team’s (NPHET) modelling could present “huge issues” for the health service.

Reid also said that the HSE would be open to a “planned and pragmatic approach” for the easing of restrictions.

“I’ve always been very clear, long time restrictions, lockdowns of the community, of enterprise and business, is not good for the health service either,” he said.

“On the extreme end of it, what’s happening in the UK, we would have huge concerns.”

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