'Try and only meet people you will spend Christmas Day with this week,' CMO says

Taoiseach Micheál Martin has thanked the public for their resilience in the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Speaking in Government Buildings in Dublin, he told reporters: "I want to thank the Irish people for their resilience, their capacity to adapt against the biggest challenge from Covid-19... and I really want to thank people for the manner in which they have dealt with this, not just in their behaviour but also getting their booster vaccine."

Asked about the length of time those who have had Covid-19 must wait to have their booster jab, Mr Martin said he has asked for the period to be reviewed.

Micheál Martin said the Irish Government is keeping recently announced new coronavirus restrictions "under constant review".

"The key criteria is the general health of the population, protecting public health, protecting lives of people," he said.

"We still need more comprehensive data in respect of the severity of Omicron, the degree to which high numbers of cases will convert into hospital admissions... that is a key consideration and obviously we will be working with other countries, the United Kingdom and others, to get a handle on that data as soon as we possibly can. That will inform our approach.

"Suffice to say, this year, because of the fact that we have vaccines, the booster vaccine, that fact we have such a high number of the population with primary doses of the vaccine... so we're hopeful that the combination of the vaccines with the level of restrictions... that we can get through Omicron."

Covid cases

There have been a further 5,279 confirmed cases of Covid-19, the Department of Health said.

As of 8am in Tuesday, there were 443 patients in hospitals with the disease, with 102 of those in ICU, down 2.

Chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan said: "As we continue to see incidence rising in our young adult population, I would urge all parents, guardians and extended friends and family to support the young people in your lives to reduce their contacts.

"I know that this is not an easy task for any of us and it can feel very unfair that we continue to ask so much of our young people, particularly at this special time of year.

"This group have made significant sacrifices in order to protect loved ones and I would like to thank them for that.

"It is important now that we continue to encourage and support each other to make sacrifices, take responsible actions and continue to follow the public health advice.

"This week, try and only meet with the people with whom you will spend Christmas Day.

"Keep your contacts as low as possible in order to protect those around you."