And 367 hospitalized patients were reported to be receiving treatment for the virus, down 17 compared to yesterday, with 59 of those admitted to intensive care.
Six people have been admitted to intensive care in the past 24 hours while four have left.
The Ministry of Health said today’s five-day moving average of case numbers is 1,381 which is a better indication of the Covid infection levels in the country despite lower hospitalization numbers today.
Compared to last week, the five-day moving average represents a 16% decrease.
This comes after the recent drop in case numbers such as Covid-19 infection rates Continue its recent decline.
Monaghan, Donegal, Cavan, and Leitrim have the highest 14-day infection rates in the country.
Since the outbreak began, 359,420 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed – but today’s data is subject to future verification that the Health Ministry said more cases may be identified and released retroactively.
The death toll from the virus now stands at 5,112 Covid-related deaths and is now reported weekly on Wednesday instead of daily after the HSE cyber attack several months ago.
No data was provided today on Covid-related deaths as a result.
The latest case data comes as 11 cases linked to the latest intriguing Covid-19 variants have been reported in Ireland.
Both Lambda and Mu have been classified as variables of interest (VoI) by the World Health Organization (WHO) in recent months.
According to the latest data from the Gisaid variant tracer, four cases of the Lambda variant have been reported in the republic and one in the north.
This variant was first discovered in Peru in December 2020 but was not considered by the World Health Organization as VoI until June 14 this year.
By April 2021, Peru reported that 81% of serial Covid cases were associated with Lambda.
So far, lambda cases have been reported in 40 countries around the world, the majority of which are located in Peru, Chile and the United States. It is now considered the predominant variant in Argentina, Chile and Colombia.
However, cases appear to be declining in recent weeks with no new lambda cases reported in Peru in the past four weeks while there were 19 in Chile and six in the United States during the same period.
When adding the variant, also known as C.37, to the list of VoIs, the WHO said: «Lambda has been associated with objective rates of community transmission in several countries, with higher prevalence over time coinciding with an increased incidence of Covid-19.»
Lambda carries a number of mutations that are suspected to lead to a possible increase in transmissibility or increased resistance to neutralizing antibodies.
Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s technical lead on Covid-19, said the organization is tracking the strain as some have warned it may be more transmissible than the delta variant.
The World Health Organization said preliminary data showed that the Mu variant, or B.1.621, has the ability to evade immunity provided by vaccines and antibodies.
The latest VoI, Mu, has been detected in Ireland with four cases reported in the republic and two in the north.
Mu was classified as a VoI index by the World Health Organization on August 30 and has been reported in 45 countries so far.
Mu was first detected in Colombia in January 2021 and has since seen some sporadic case reports and some larger outbreaks reported in South America and Europe.
«Although the global prevalence of the mu variant among serial cases has decreased and is currently less than 0.1%, the prevalence in Colombia (39%) and Ecuador (13%) has consistently increased,» WHO said in its weekly epidemiological update.
«The reported prevalence should be interpreted with due regard to sequencing capabilities and the timeliness of sharing of sequences, both of which vary from country to country.»
The World Health Organization said preliminary data showed that the Mu variant, or B.1.621, has the ability to evade immunity provided by vaccines and antibodies.
The data show «a decrease in the neutralizing ability of convalescent sera and vaccine similar to that seen for the beta variant».
However, the World Health Organization said more study is needed to confirm the suspected similarities with the variant first discovered in South Africa.
Speaking of the Mu variant last week, Dr. Cillian de Gascon, director of the National Virology Reference Laboratory, said there was «no indication that it would be able to rival Delta at this point.»
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