The head of the HSE says the Delta variant is spreading faster than it expected.
Officials at the Department of Health reported a further 994 Covid-19 cases today.
So that's the highest daily total since February 13th.
There are 80 people in hospital with the virus, and 22 in ICU.
Higher Cases, Positivity And Close Contacts
Paul Reid says officials are concerned about the increase in cases:
"The early indications were that we'd get to about 1,000 cases a day by the end of July."
"So it seems to have accelerated much quicker than we thought it would, frankly."
"Higher numbers of cases, higher positivity and higher numbers of close contacts."
"They're accelerating it beyond what might have been predicted."
