3,174 new cases of COVID-19 nationally, and 56 deaths in the past seven days

Galway Bay fm newsroom - NPHET is encouraging people to cut the number of social contacts, as it says socialisation is at it's highest level since the pandemic began.

56 new deaths related to Covid-19 have been reported in the past seven days.

3,174 new cases of the virus have also been detected in the past 24 hours.

Professor Philip Nolan from NPHET says there's been a smaller increase in cases among those aged over 85 compared to other cohorts - he says it's likely due to the booster vaccine.