He returned to the links course later in the same year when he spent an afternoon playing a round.

"An Garda Síochána will not be making any further comment on the matter," the statement said.A record 26,122 cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed in the State today.

As of 8am today, 917 Covid-19 patients are hospitalised of which 83 are in intensive care units.AdvertisementThis figure represents a drop of 24 coronavirus patients in hospital since Thursday.The Omicron wave of Covid-19 is causing further "unsustainable" disruption to a range of services including healthcare and pharmacies.

However, there is growing optimism among public health officials over the variant’s limited capacity to cause severe disease and death, after a meeting of the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) on Thursday said to be “generally upbeat”.The European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC) said the situation remained serious with further pressure on health services expected.

AdvertisementThere are also concerns that compliance with restrictions may slip amid impressions that Omicron is milder, along with concern that over-30s are not receiving Covid-19 booster vaccines in large enough numbers.

Doctors have warned the Government that their stocks of vaccines may go out of date, which will likely lead to a renewed push for those aged 20-40 to get boosted,The Irish Timesreports.The survey also noted that ownership of wearable technology, such as smart watches, has grown by 9 per cent in the past year, with 46 per cent of respondents saying they owned such devices.

The Cabinet may meet as early as Friday to approve the lifting of Covid restrictions, which could begin next week.While no meeting has been formally scheduled yet, it is understood that arrangements will be put in place quickly if advice from the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) on Thursday is favourable to a quick reopening, The Irish Times reports.

AdvertisementThe Cabinet's weekly meeting takes place tomorrow while Nphet will meet on Thursday to consider the latest modelling, hospital situation and current restrictions.If the advice that comes from this meeting is favourable, Cabinet could make a decision on Friday to begin the easing of restrictions from next week.