The number of Covid-19 patients being treated at Mayo University Hospital has reduced significantly - with a 30% drop over the past week.

Latest HSE figures show 22 Covid patients being treated at the Castlebar hospital- down from 32 a week ago.

There are 5 Covid patients currently being treated at UHG and 2 at Sligo University Hospital.

Nationally, there are 366 people with Covid-19 being treated in public hospitals today - that's down 20% on this day last week.

92 of these patients are in ICU.

There are 652 people with Covid-19 being treated in hospitals across the country today - that's down 5% since yesterday, and 21% lower than last Wednesday.

151 of these patients are in ICU.

Mayo University Hospital has seen a fall in the number of Covid patients being treated at the hospital - with 30 patients today, down from 36 yesterday and 42 this day last week.

There are 24 Covid patients being treated at University Hospital Galway, 7 in Sligo and 4 at Portiuncla Hospital in Ballinasloe.

56 fewer people were in public hospitals with Covid-19 last night, compared with Sunday night.

The number dropped to 310 last night - from 366 three days earlier.

Latest figures show there are 75 patients with the virus in intensive care.

All hospitals across this region have seen a drop in the number of Covid patients in recent days, except Sligo University Hospital.

Last night's figures from the HSE show 7 Covid patients at Mayo University Hospital - down from 12 on Sunday, 3 at Galway University Hospital - down 1 - and 4 at Portiuncla Hospital in Ballinasloe.

There are now 15 Covid patients at Sligo University Hospital - the highest number across the region, and up from 11 on Sunday.

419 people with Covid-19 are receiving treatment in Irish hospitals today-  that's down 22% on last Monday - with 103 of these patients in ICU.

There's been an increase in the past 24 hours in the number of patient with the virus being treated at Mayo University Hospital - that's up from 30 to 34 last night.

The Castlebar hospital has the fourth highest number of Covid patients in the country, after 3 Dublin hospitals.

Elsewhere in the region, there are 8 Covid patients being treated at Galway University Hospital, 7 at Sligo University Hospital and 2 at Portiuncla Hospital in Ballinasloe.

The 14-day rate of the virus nationally is now 172 cases per 100,000 people.

All of the Connacht counties now have rates lower than the national average.

The number of people in hospital with Covid 19 is continuing to decline.

861 people with the virus are in hospital today, with 151 of these patients in intensive care.

However, there's an increase in the number of Covid patients being treated at Mayo University Hospital.

Latest figures show 42 patients at the Castlebar hospital are being treated for the virus - that's up from 38 yesterday, with 31 at University Hospital Galway, 14 at Sligo University Hospital and 4 at Portiuncla in Ballinasloe.

The HSE CEO Paul Reid has confirmed that the number of Covid patients being treated in hospitals across the country has increased to 1,700, with 158 of these patients in ICU - a new record.

13 hospitals have no intensive care beds free, as the third wave of the pandemic continues to put increasing pressure on the acute health system.

However, the HSE says it has the ability to create more ICU beds through surge capacity and via the private hospitals.

In this region, there are 116 patients with confirmed Covid-19 being treated at University Hospital Galway, 91 at Mayo University Hospital, 32 at Sligo hospital and 9 in Portiuncla Hospital, Ballinasloe.

At Mayo University Hospital, the latest figure of 91 Covid patients being treated is up from 50 this time last week.

None of these patients are being treated in the Intensive Care unit.

Latest HSE data shows Mayo University Hospital currently has 3 critical beds and one general bed available - while the INMO is reporting 8 patients on trolleys today at the Castlebar hospital.

274 people with Covid-19 are in hospitals across the country this morning - the lowest total since December 26th.It's down from 294 yesterday.

This includes just one Covid patient at Mayo University Hospital - the lowest of any hospital in the region.

There are currently 9 patients with the virus at Sligo University Hospital, 8 at UHG and 4 at Portiuncla Hospital in Ballinasloe.

The number of Covid-19 patients in public hospitals has reached a low not seen since the beginning of October.

174 people with the disease were on wards last night according to the HSE.

 There's also less than 50 people in ICU with the virus for the second day in a row - figures show there were 48 patients in critical care overnight

 In this region, there are 5 Covid patients at both UHG and Portiuncla Hospital, 2 a Sligo University Hospital and just one patient with Covid-19 being treated at Mayo University Hospital.

The HSE boss Paul Reid says "there's reason to be hopeful", as the number of patients in hospital with Covid-19 is falling, as well as numbers in ICU.

Nationally today, there are 475 Covid patients being treated in public hospitals, with 112 of those patients in intensive care.

However, the number of Covid-19 patients at Mayo University Hospital remains high, at 38.

This is the 4th highest in the country, after three Dublin hospitals.

Elsewhere, there are 10 Covid patients at UHG, 5 at Sligo University Hospital and 4 at Portiuncla Hospital, Ballinasloe.

In a post on social media, Paul Reid said vaccines are showing positive early signs of effectiveness, as infections among the most vulnerable and healthcare workers are decreasing hugely.

Just over 81,000 Covid-19 vaccines were administered over the past week - lower than the target of 100,000.

The highest daily number was 18,300 given out on Thursday, while less than 2,500 were administered on Sunday.

In total 439,700 injections have taken place, with 141,000 being second doses.

The latest figures show a significant reduction in the number of patients in hospital with Covid-19.

Nationally, there were 220 patients with the disease in hospital last night, down 41 on the figure reported earlier, according to the HSE.

The number of Covid patients in intensive care units was unchanged at 58.

Mayo University Hospital last night reported no patients with Covid-19  -for the first time this year.

There are 9 Covid patients at Galway University Hospital, 5 at Portiuncla Hospital in Ballinasloe and 2 at Sligo Hospital.

The number of Covid patients in hospital has fallen to 371 - the lowest since December 28th.

This includes 93 patients in intensive care.

 30 additional deaths were reported yesterday evening from the virus - 12 of which  occurred this month.

There were also 311 new confirmed cases of the virus -  the lowest number of cases in a single day in nearly three months.

It includes 12 new cases in Galway, 10 in Mayo and less than 5 in Roscommon.

Ireland's 14-day incidence rate is now 161 cases per 100,000 of the population - down from 201 this day last week.

8 counties have 14-day rates above the national average, while all Connacht counties have rates below the national average.

Ballygar-based GP Dr Martin Daly, a former president of the Irish Medical Organisation, says there are two reasons why the country's going in the right direction....

The number of people with Covid-19 in public hospitals has dropped to its lowest level since December 12th.

There were 189 patients being treated in hospital last night, with 47 of these patients in intensive care.

This include 2 Covid patients being treated at Mayo University Hospital, 6 at UHG, 4 at Portiuncla Hospital in Ballinasloe and 1 at Sligo University Hospital.

Meanwhile, 358 new cases of the virus have been confirmed, along with 18 further deaths.

Seven of the deaths occurred this month.

After a spike in cases in Mayo and Galway on Monday, yesterday's figures across Connacht were low - with 5 new cases confirmed in Roscommon, less than 5 in Mayo, Galway and Leitrim and no new cases in Sligo.

Mayo has recorded 131 new cases of the virus over the past fortnight, with 222 cases in Galway.

Mayo's 14-day incidence rate of the virus is now at 100 per 100,000 people - while the national average is 131 per 100,000.