Ireland is facing into a summer Covid-19 wave as case numbers spiral, a leading immunologist warned yesterday.
Her stark advice came as Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan wrote to government to raise the alarm over increased pressure on hospitals.
DCU professor of immunology Christine Locher estimated daily case numbers to be as high as 10,000 and urged people to return to wearing face masks.
Speaking on RTE’s Brendan O’Connor show she said Ireland was experiencing a similar resurgence as other European countries.
Prof Locher said: “We have just seen what Portugal has been through... BA.5 took off and, because it is more transmissible, they had more cases.
“We are not really going to know how many cases we have because we have quite restrictive PCR testing at the moment.
“We are doing about 5,000 [tests] a day. It is nowhere near what we were doing at the height of the pandemic.”
She said the spread of coronavirus was harder to monitor because access to free antigen testing had dried up.
She added: “Be aware of the environment you are in. If you think it’s a riskier environment it would be a good idea to put a mask back on. There is nothing we can do to prevent us from getting it but there are things you can do to minimise your risk. Mask wearing is one of them.”
Read more: Professor Luke O'Neill says new Covid-19 vaccination campaign in autumn 'likely'
CMO Tony Holohan warned in a letter to government that hospitals are under “increased pressure” from Covid-19.
The latest figures show 537 patients receiving treatment for the virus in hospitals – an increase of 22 in the space of 24 hours.
Positivity rate for testing now stands at just under 30%, almost double the 16.4% rate on June 4.
Infectious diseases expert Jack Lambert yesterday warned we would be living with the virus for “years and years” to come.
A total of 7,442 people have died from Covid-19 up to June 15.
The National Symphony Orchestra has axed its June 21 concert because a significant number of its musicians have Covid-19.
Read more: Covid-19 Ireland: Department of Health renews masks advice as hospital cases rise
Read more: Leo Varadkar warns rising Covid cases could be sign of 'summer wave'
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