'Several hundred thousand' Covid cases reported each week as sub-variant spreads

Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly warned colleagues of the massive strain hospitals are now coming under. Picture: Gareth Chaney/Collins Photos

The true number of Covid-19 cases is probably running at “several hundred thousand” a week, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has told a Fianna Fáil meeting.

It is understood Mr Donnelly told the online meeting that current sub-variant is extremely contagious and would require “quite serious” restrictions to stop its spread.

However, he reiterated the advice from CMO Tony Holohan that further measures are not required at this point.

Mr Donnelly warned colleagues of the massive strain hospitals are now coming under.

“If we’re registering 10,000 to 15,000 cases a day through PCR and antigen tests, you can be sure the actual numbers are several times that much,” he told his party colleagues.

Medics call for rethink on Covid protections as case numbers spiral

Some 1,624 hospital patients had Covid-19 on Monday, while the weekend saw a total of 39,561 new cases confirmed.

Senior medics have called for leadership on Covid-19 protections as the number of patients in hospital reached its highest level in 14 months on Monday.

As of 8am on Tuesday morning, there were 1,605 patients with Covid in hospital - down 19 since Monday.

Intensive care patient numbers also climbed slightly, hitting 54, leading HSE CEO Paul Reid to declare “huge stress” on services. 

“We need to turn this tide again,” he said, and urged people to wear masks and get boosted or vaccinated.

The Emergency Department Taskforce met on Monday and subsequently wrote to Health Minister Stephen Donnelly asking him to discuss their concerns with outgoing chief medical officer Tony Holohan. The minister did not attend the virtual meeting.

Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation secretary general and taskforce co-chair Phil Ní Sheaghdha said mask-wearing should be reconsidered.

Phil Ní Sheaghdha, general secretary of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation and co-chair of the Emergency Department Taskforce, has said that mask-wearing should be reconsidered. Picture: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie

Taskforce member Stephen McMahon, of Irish Patients Association, said the situation is “a matter of alarm that requires urgent attention”. 

Gabrielle Colleran, vice-president, Irish Hospital Consultants Association, said hospital staff have faced challenges since Christmas, when cases began rising.

“As medical staff have gotten sick in large numbers with Covid since Christmas, it’s been really hard to maintain the urgent and essential scheduled care streams medical staffing-wise,” she said.

Ray Walley, national GP Covid liaison committee, said this week marks 10 days since the St Patrick’s Day celebrations and that the rise in case numbers was predictable.

“The message needs to go out from the minister for health stating if people are symptomatic to isolate, they should not be going to GP surgeries or other healthcare settings. 

A lot of practices have staff out. We are seeing a tsunami of workload.”

John Wenger, chair of the expert group on ventilation, also called for better supports for ventilation to prevent transmission.

“People are getting sick, people are getting re-infected, so we need to step up our measures. In the absence of masks and social distancing, ventilation is the only protective measure we’ve got,” he said.

Mr Donnelly holds regular meetings with the CMO who is not advising any change to existing advice, a spokesman for the minister said. They are continuing to closely monitor the profile of the disease and to discuss setting up a new Covid advisory group.