The health ministry today cancelled its weekly, nationally televised briefing on the country’s epidemiological situation for the second week in a row, even as the National Public Health Organisation announced 56 COVID-19 deaths, 21,863 newly confirmed infections (25 detected at points of entry into the country) and a 36.78 percent point rise in hospital admissions in the last 24 hours.

With the newly announced deaths, 26,424 people have died of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic, 95 percent with an underlying medical condition and/or age 70 or older.

A total of 2.58mn infections (49.4 percent men) have been recorded since the start of the pandemic, a daily increase of 0.9 percentage points.

Of infections recorded over the last seven days, 196 are believed to be linked to travel abroad, while 1,077 have been traced to a previously confirmed case.

Intubated patients, major spike in hospital admissions

There are currently 359 intubated patients (64.3 percent men), with a median age of 68-years-old, and 88.6 percent have an underlying medical condition and/or are age 70 or older.

Of intubated patients, 66 percent are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated, while 34 percent are fully vaccinated.

Since the start of the pandemic, 4,324 patients (of about 14,000 admitted) have been released from ICUs, a death rate of about 70 percent.

In the last 24 hours, 357 COVID-19 patients have been admitted to hospital (a whopping daily increase of 36.78 percentage points). For the last seven days, the average daily number of admissions is 282 patients.

The median age of individuals with newly confirmed infections is 35-years-old, while the median age of those who died is 79-years-old.

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