Omicron spike could see hospital numbers exceed January levels, warns Donnelly

"In terms of the number of cases, yes, it could well be it could be more in terms of the number of hospitalisations [compared to January of this year]. Yes, that is entirely possible.”

Covid hospitalisations could match or even exceed the spike seen last January as Omicron becomes the dominant variant here, the health minister has warned.

GPs have been asked to halt all less urgent work and prioritise the rollout of Covid-19 boosters as part of a significant acceleration of the vaccine campaign, which will see doctors given discretion in moving through all adult age groups with booster jabs.