Covid hospital numbers have topped 1,300 and hit their highest level in a year as HSE boss, Paul Reid, calls on the public for extra vigilance again in the face of the pandemic.
Mr Reid warned: “we are still dealing with a highly transmissible virus” as he urged people to keep wearing masks in shops, on public transport and in nursing homes.
He said people should “make their own judgement on masks.”
There were 1,308 people in hospital with Covid on Monday, the highest since April 2nd 2021, with 49 cases in ICU (Intensive Care Units).
And overall, the HSE reported almost 65,000 cases for five days through the St Patrick’s Day double bank holiday weekend.
Sunday saw the highest number with almost 15,000 cases recorded, made up of 4,024 PCR-confirmed to HSE headquarters, along with 10,631 self-reported positive antigen tests.
The battle to beat the virus is not over with the worrying rise in numbers leading Tánaiste, Leo Varadkar, to say on Sunday we are facing a second wave of the Omicron variant.
And one of our leading academic experts in viruses, Professor Anthony Staines, warned yesterday (MON) that the mutated version of Omicron is “spreading fast” in Europe and will be with us here very soon.
However, Mr Varadkar said that the Government is not considering the reimposition of any restrictions now, instead, a fourth Covid jab is likely to be brought forward to the summer.
Mr Reid told RTE’s Today with Claire Byrne that there are still 700,000 people who have not yet gotten a booster dose for various reasons and he is calling for them to come forward now.
The health chief added that the rest of the health service is being affected by the pressure Covid is putting on resources.
He said: “It certainly feels like from a health perspective, we're entering something in terms of its significantly increased impact.”
Nurses are also warning that the health service is struggling to cope.
INMO (Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation) General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said: "We have been ringing the alarm on this situation for far too long.
"We are not in a space in which our health service can cope with 570 patients on trolleys coupled with such high numbers of patients in our hospitals with Covid."
DCU Professor of Health Systems, Anthony Staines, told Newstalk that he expects the new BA2 variant to land in Ireland soon, if it isn’t here already.
He said: “It’s spreading fast everywhere they’re looking for it.
“We don’t do a lot of genetic sequencing in Ireland but what we have been doing suggests that it’s mostly BA1 here but BA2 seems to be the dominant strain in the United Kingdom and Europe.
“So I expect BA2 will be here shortly, if it isn’t already.”
READ MORE: Covid Ireland: Almost 65,000 cases confirmed since St Patrick's Day amid concern about new variant
READ MORE: Can I still get the Covid payment if I need to self-isolate after the bank Holiday weekend?
