Dublin, Jul 29 (IANS): The number of overall confirmed coronavirus cases in Ireland has increased to 295,386 after it reported the highest single-day infections since February, according to the latest data from the country's Department of Health.

On Wednesday, another 1,408 people tested positive for the virus, while a total of 152 Covid-19 patients were being treated in hospitals across Ireland, of which 26 remained in intensive care units, Xinhua news agency quoted the Department as saying in a statement.

"Currently, 2 per cent of cases are being hospitalized," said Tony Holohan, chief medical officer of the Department of Health.

There would have been more cases and hospitalisations were it not for the great progress being made in taking up vaccination, said Holohan in the statement.

Latest official figures showed that over 65 per cent of the adult population in Ireland have been fully vaccinated.

The median age of Wednesday's 1,408 cases is 24, said the statement, quoting Philip Nolan, chair of the Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group under Ireland's National Public Health Emergency Team.

"The current trajectory of the more transmissible Delta variant across the country means that unvaccinated people remain at high risk of contracting COVID-19," said Nolan.

The statement also quoted Karina Butler, chair of the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC), as saying that the NIAC had recommended the use of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for 12-15 year olds.

"Clinical trials estimated efficacy of both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines as 100 per cent in these age groups, making them extremely effective in preventing infection in this age cohort," said Butler.