There are 735 patients with Covid-19 in hospitals across Ireland this morning. That is 74 fewer than yesterday. It is the lowest number since 5 March, when there were 673 people in hospital with coronavirus.
The number of people with the virus in ICU is 50 - down three since yesterday. This is the least number of patients in critical care with the virus since 30 March when 49 of those in ICU had Covid-19.
Meanwhile, a new study from the Irish Blood Transfusion Service (carried out between 18 October 2021 to 14 January 2022) has shown that the number of under-reported Covid-19 cases varies depending on age.
Blood donor samples were tested for antibodies following infection or vaccination. It is estimated that overall, for people aged between 20 and 79, only seven in 10 infections had been notified on the Computerised Infectious Disease Reporting (CIDR) system.