More than 30,000 Covid cases reported over the weekend as officials call for caution

While roughly half of the Covid patients currently in hospital were admitted for other illnesses and found to also have the virus, health officials said they still need to be given special treatment.

A resurgence in Covid-19 infections has seen more than 30,000 cases diagnosed in three days and hospitals having to deal with more than 1,000 patients with the virus for the first time since mid-January.

“The fact that we have 544 patients on trolleys today and over 1,042 patients in hospitals with Covid-19 almost two years to the day that the virus first reached our shores is a recipe for disaster,” said Phil Ní Sheaghdha, general secretary of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO).

Over 31,000 cases were confirmed between Friday and Monday, consisting of 11,975 positive PCR test results and 19,915 positive antigen test results.

The number of Covid patients in hospital ICUs is also rising although at a much slower rate than admissions and now stands at 42, up from 37 on Friday.

While roughly half of the Covid patients currently in hospital were admitted for other illnesses and found to also have the virus, health officials said they still need to be given special treatment.

The INMO, which warned against the lifting of mask-wearing earlier this year, called for emergency measures applied in January to be considered again.

“If our past experience of Covid and high numbers of patients on trolleys has taught us anything, we will be seeing the impacts of this on our health system for many weeks to come," said Ms Ní Sheaghdha.

She said the week around St Patrick’s Day is traditionally one of the busiest for hospital emergency departments.

“If non-emergency services need to be curtailed in order to allow the HSE and hospital groups to get a handle on out-of-control trolley figures and Covid cases within the hospital system then that must be done,” she said.

Even if elective surgeries are not officially postponed, rising levels of infection could still affect patients as people who catch the virus must wait at least six weeks before having surgery, Dr Catherine Motherway, head of the ICU at University Hospital Limerick warned.

Phil Ní Sheaghdha: If our past experience of Covid and high numbers of patients on trolleys has taught us anything, we will be seeing the impacts of this on our health system for many weeks to come. Picture: Leah Farrell

She encouraged people aged over 70 or with compromised immune systems to continue to wear masks on public transport and in busy settings. 

Nonetheless, she told RTÉ she does not think mask-wearing should become mandatory again even though the number of new cases has risen steadily since compulsory mask-wearing was lifted at the end of February.

University Hospital Limerick had the highest number of patients on trolleys at 91 yesterday and the fourth-highest number of Covid-19 patients at 67 up to Sunday.

Three wards in the hospital remain closed to visitors due to Covid-19 with scheduled slots for one visitor per patient available in other wards, the hospital said.

University Hospital Kerry had 54 Covid patients, up from just 10 at the start of the month.

Cork University Hospital had 31 patients on trolleys yesterday according to the INMO and 42 Covid patients up to Sunday evening.

Visiting was suspended, except for compassionate visits, on Monday at Bantry Hospital, Co Cork, due to an Covid-19 outbreak.

Covid cases are also rising worldwide. China put a second region under lockdown yesterday with 24m people in the province of Jilin joining the city of Shenzhen in Guangdong province under strict lockdown. Hong Kong reported 190 new deaths despite tight travel restrictions.

Meanwhile, a HSE spokeswoman confirmed 301 Covid patients have so far been given monoclonal antibody treatment Sotrovimab in 25 hospitals here.

However, Pfizer’s antiviral tablets Paxlovid are now not expected to arrive until April although patients in the UK are already receiving this anti-Covid treatment.

On a more positive note, a new study suggests a single dose of the Pfizer vaccine can reduce infections among children.

If a child gets Covid-19 after being vaccinated they are "likely to have a milder disease", researchers from King's College London said.

While the Covid-19 vaccines have been shown to ward off serious disease and death, questions had arisen over their ability to reduce the spread of infections.