CMO: Don't 'wait and see' if you have Covid-19 symptoms 

Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan has warned the public not to adopt a "wait and see" approach to Covid-19  symptoms as the National Public Health Emergency Team announced 55 additional deaths from the disease.

827 new confirmed cases of the virus have been recorded, 76 of which were in Cork. 

Dr. Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health issued a stark warning to the public.

“There are a few old habits that collectively we have to break in order to suppress COVID-19 together," he said. 

"We know that people who feel unwell typically avoid calling their GP over the weekend, and wait to see if they improve. 

"You should no longer do that – you must phone your GP at the first sign of anything like COVID-19 symptoms. Do not adopt a ‘wait and see’ approach. 

"Similarly, do not leave your house or go to work if you have any cold or flu like symptoms at all. Breaking these habits will limit COVID-19’s opportunity to spread from person to person.”

As of 2pm on Saturday, 1,177 patients with Covid-19 were being treated in hospitals nationwide, 177 of whom were in ICU.  There have been 29 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours.

Of the cases notified today -

*409 were male and 416 were female. 

* A total of 63% were under 45 years of age 

* The median age was 38 years old.

*  297 are in Dublin, 76 in Cork, 56 in Galway, 46 in Wexford, 37 in Kildare and the remaining 315 cases are spread across all other counties.

As of 2pm today, 1,177 COVID-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 177 are in ICU.