Covid-19 patients in ICU in Ireland at its lowest level this year

Great news.

The number of people with Covid-19 being treated in Intensive Care Units (ICU) across Ireland has dropped to its lowest level in 2021. On Thursday, the Department of Health said there are now 70 people in hospital with the virus, 23 of whom are in ICU. This is the lowest level since 26 December last year when there was also 23 people requiring ICU care. The CEO of the HSE Paul Reid said the number of Covid-19 inpatients in hospitals continues "an amazing decline" and praised the vaccination programme. "Down to 59 cases with 23 of those in ICU. This is a remarkable benefit of our strong vaccination programme and public support overall," he said. "We all deserve to cherish and protect these great moments." This comes as St James' Hospital in Dublin also confirmed as of Thursday there were no Covid-19 patients being treated at the hospital. This is the first time this has happened since the beginning of the pandemic. https://twitter.com/DonnellyStephen/status/1402914564455403521 Earlier on Thursday, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said that one million people would be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 in Ireland by the end of the day. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, the Taoiseach hailed it as a "significant milestone". He said: "We hope by the end of the day, that a million people will have been fully vaccinated, which I think is a significant milestone. Over 3.1 million doses have been administered so far."