6,000 hospital staff off work due to Covid-19

Dr Ronan Glynn has told the Oireachtas Health Committee that Nphet has recommended mandatory quarantine for all travellers coming to Ireland. Picture: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie

There are now 120 open outbreaks of Covid in hospitals, with 442 hospital acquired cases reported last week alone, the Health Committee has heard.

The number of people on both inpatient, day cases and outpatient lists has ballooned to an "unacceptable number" a senior HSE manager said.