Dublin, Aug 23 : The number of Covid-19 hospitalisations in Ireland reached a record high since March this year despite a decline in daily cases. The Irish Department of Health said that as of Sunday morning there were 314 Covid-19 patients being treated in hospitals across the country, of which 59 were in intensive care units, reports Xinhua news agency. A total of 1,688 new cases were also confirmed on Sunday in the country, a 20 per cent decline from the previous day's 2,125 cases, the highest daily figure ever recorded since the current wave of infections reached the country in July. Paul Reid, head of the Health Service Executive, told local media that the 314 hospitalisation figure was the highest since the end of March this year. Earlier in the day, he tweeted that almost 6.6 million doses of vaccines have been administered in Ireland and 85 per cent of Irish adults have been fully vaccinated. In addition, 135,000 children aged 12-15 in the country have registered for the vaccination against Covid-19 and 77,000 of them have received their first dose, he said. Reid also urged people to follow the public health advices as the Covid-19 threat in the country "is still very real". The current wave of infections in Ireland started in mid-July when the country saw its daily cases soared above 1,000 for the first time in many months. Under the current wave, the weekly cases in the country have surpassed the peak levels in the first and second wave, which occurred in April and October of 2020, respectively, but still lower than the level in the third wave which peaked in early January of this year, according to figures from the Irish Department of Health. /IANS