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Covid-19: Avoid New Year's parties, urges Irish chief medic

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Dr Tony Holohan has urged people not to hold household gatherings for New Year's Eve

People in Ireland should not hold household gatherings to mark New Year's Eve amid a rise in Covid-19 cases, the chief medical officer has warned.

Dr Tony Holohan has written to the Health Minister Stephen Donnelly to express concern at the recent figures.

He has also urged the public to keep their social contacts low over the coming weeks.

On Thursday, more than 20,000 new cases were confirmed in the Republic of Ireland in a 24-hour reporting period.

Dr Holohan's letter followed a presentation he gave to senior civil servants, RTÉ News reported.

In a social media post after the latest figures were announced, he highlighted that it had been the fourth time in the space of a week in which Ireland had reported a record high number of cases.

He said: "The most effective way to minimise the risk of any of us transmitting this virus to others is to avoid mixing indoors with people from other households."

"I know this is not the advice any one of us wants to hear, particularly in advance of New Year celebrations. However, given the current profile of the disease, it is essential that all of us continue to keep our social contacts as low as possible in the days ahead."

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Dr Holohan has previously warned people to reduce their social contacts and avoid crowded shopping areas, which he described as "high-risk".

In his post, he commented that hospitalisation rates "are not sustainable" and "are having a significant impact on our health service".

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Dr Tony Holohan wrote to Ireland's health minister on Thursday about the rise in positive cases

On Thursday, RTÉ News reported that the Irish government is considering a reduction to the self-isolation period for Covid-positive people who have received a booster jab.

This could drop from 10 to seven days and take effect from 3 January.

Such a move would follow similar steps taken by the Northern Ireland executive.

According to the most recent figures, there have been 5,912 deaths in the Republic of Ireland linked to Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic.

There were 20,554 positive cases reported on Thursday, while there are 619 Covid-positive patients in hospital, of which 88 are being treated in intensive care units.

As of Thursday, a total of 7.4m vaccines and 2.07m booster jabs had been administered.