The highest rate of Covid-19 is now seen in 35- to 44-year-olds, as numbers with the virus continue to rise in hospital.
New figures show that people between the ages of 35-44 are responsible for 20.4pc of cases detected by PCR tests administered by the HSE, followed by 19.5pc among 25- to 34-year-olds.
Children aged 13-18 and people older than 85 are responsible for the lowest proportion, at 1.8 pct.
More women are infected, at 59.4pc compared to men.
This comes as the number of people with Covid-19 in hospital rose to 765 yesterday, compared to 537 two weeks ago.
There has been a significant increase in the numbers in intensive care – up to 35 from the low 20s last week. The hope, however, is that this wave may have peaked and that the numbers will start to decline.
Meanwhile, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), sounded the alarm in a statement on monkey pox about its spread.
There have been 28 confirmed cases in Ireland so far.
“I am deeply concerned about the spread of monkey pox, which has now been identified in more than 50 countries, across five WHO regions, with 3,000 cases since early May,” he said.
The WHO Emergency Committee shared serious concerns about the scale and speed of the current outbreak, noted many unknowns and gaps in current data and drew up a consensus report reflecting differing views among the committee.
“In the report, they generally advised me that the event does not currently constitute a public health emergency of international concern, which is the highest level of warning that the WHO can issue, but acknowledged that the agreement of the committee itself the growing concern about the international distribution of monkey pox, ”he said.
Dr Tedros added: “This is clearly an evolving health threat that I and my colleagues in the WHO Secretariat are following very closely.
“It now requires our collective attention and coordinated action to stop the further spread of monkey poxvirus through public health measures, including surveillance, contact detection, isolation and care of patients, and to ensure that health aids such as vaccines and treatments are available to at-risk populations and shared fairly. ”
He added: “What makes the current outbreak particularly worrying is the rapid, ongoing spread to new countries and regions and the risk of further, sustained transmission to vulnerable populations, including people who are immunocompromised, pregnant women and children.”