Ireland logged 19,489 new cases of Covid-19 over the past three days, as hospitalisations stabilised after surging upwards during a new wave of the disease.
9,227 cases were confirmed by PCR test from Saturday to Monday, while a further 10,262 people registered a positive antigen test through the HSE portal.
There were 1,433 Covid-positive patients in hospital as of Monday morning, an increase from 1,404 on Sunday when the number dropped for four consecutive days.
Intensive care admissions have trended upwards in recent days, with 59 people receiving treatment on Monday.
10,839 cases were reported on Friday ahead of the weekend, down 83 per cent on the previous Friday.
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said he did not anticipate any major changes to the seven-day isolation period for the virus after it was reported that chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan will consider if it should be reduced.
Shanghai to extend lockdown of 26 million
Elsewhere, Shanghai will remain under lockdown as it reviews results of an exercise to test all of its 26 million residents for Covid-19, authorities said on Monday.
The city began its two-stage lockdown on March 28th, initially in Shanghai's eastern districts and later expanded to cover the whole city.
The curbs, which have massively disrupted daily life and business operations in China's financial hub, were initially scheduled to end at 5am local time (9pm Irish time) on Tuesday.
The country sent the military and thousands of healthcare workers into Shanghai to help carry out tests on Monday, in one of the country's biggest-ever public health responses.
Western diplomats have expressed concern about separating children from their parents as part of Covid curbs - a situation that has arisen in Shanghai as the government tries to stamp out the spread of the virus.
US poor died at higher rate from Covid than rich
Americans living in poorer counties died during the pandemic at almost twice the rate of those in rich counties, a study released Monday by the Poor People's Campaign showed.
The study, based on income and death data from over 3,200 US counties, shows an even bigger gap during the Delta variant that made up the US's fourth coronavirus wave, when people living in the lowest income counties died at five times the rate of those in the highest income counties.
Sweden to offer fourth jab
Sweden will give a fourth shot of Covid-19 vaccine to people aged 65 and above to boost their defences against the disease, the health agency said on Monday.
Surging Covid cases cancel UK flights
A renewed surge of Covid-19 in Britain has forced airlines including easyJet to cancel hundreds of flights in recent days as staff sickness levels soar.
England dropped all its coronavirus restrictions earlier this year, including a legal requirement to self-isolate when testing positive and the need to wear masks in public places.
Indonesia greets Ramadan as curbs ease
The world's largest Muslim-majority nation of Indonesia welcomed the start of the holy fasting month of Ramadan with a mass prayer at Jakarta's grand mosque on Saturday, with plateauing coronavirus cases allowing for eased restrictions this year.
Thousands gathered after dusk at Istiqlal mosque in the Indonesian capital to join the Tarawih prayer, donning masks and using check-in apps to take part in the event.
