Record-breaking 921 Covid patients  in hospital as pressure on ICU intensifies

There are 75 people with the virus being treated in ICUs.

There are 921 people with Covid-19 being treated in Irish hospitals this morning, the highest number since the pandemic began.

This is an increase of 48 patients from 8pm last night.

There are 75 people with the virus being treated in ICUs.

Intensive care consultant Dr Catherine Motherway has warned that the increased Covid figures are placing a burden on ICU departments.

Dr Motherway, who is head of the intensive care unit at the Mid Western University Regional hospital in Limerick, told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland that there were “significant Covid admissions” at the hospital and a number of outbreaks on site.

“We are coping, but we’re under pressure.” 

Dr Motherway said that she hoped that the figures would drop in the community under Level 5 restrictions as the rate of transmission was higher this time compared with the last lockdown and the spread of the virus was across the country — not just on the east coast.

“We are extremely worried that we will see continued transmission and hospitalisations.” 

 As the number of cases rises, there will be more people who will require hospitalisation “and we will see more in ICU.” If everyone stayed at home then the numbers would reduce, she added.

There were finite resources and if too many people contracted the virus “we will have to make hard choices.” 

Dr Motherway said that the vaccine gives some hope, but people still needed to be careful “there's no point dying of this disease while waiting for the vaccine.”

Meanwhile, 219 patients are waiting for beds this morning, according to today’s INMO Trolley Watch, with 183 patients waiting in emergency departments, while 36 are in wards elsewhere in the hospital. Munster-based hospitals have some of the highest numbers waiting on a bed, with 66 patients on trolleys in University Hospital Limerick, and 25 patients waiting for a bed in Cork University Hospital, while nine patients are without a bed in Mercy University Hospital Cork.