cases and 22 deaths were reported. chief medical officer tony holohan expressed concern and stated that "every individual should consider themselves potentially infectious". 30 december – a further 20,554 cases were reported, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 768,449. chief medical officer tony holohan confirmed that 92% of cases were now due to the omicron variant, while he urged people to keep social contacts low and not to hold household gatherings on new year's eve. 31 december a further 20,110 cases were reported, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 788,559. minister for health stephen donnelly announced that booster vaccines would be offered to everyone aged 16 and over from 2 january 2022, eight days earlier than planned.