HSE warns of re-infections as Covid figures surge

Dr Colm Henry, chief clinical officer at the HSE has warned against re-infections of coronavirus. Picture: Colin Keegan/Collins Dublin

HSE chief clinical officer Dr Colm Henry has warned of the risk of re-infections from Covid-19 as new Omicron variants become more prevalent.

This comes against a backdrop of rising cases and rising numbers of patients in hospital either admitted with Covid-19 or identified as having the virus on admission.

Latest figures show 453 people with the virus in hospitals compared to 180 on May 31. 

However, numbers needing ICU care have remained under 30 each day during that time.

The positivity rate among people taking PCR tests has also risen from 17% at the end of May to 27.4% on Monday.

Ireland is now seeing more infections caused by Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 with these variants accounting for 42% of cases up to Friday.

“We are concerned certainly at the increasing hospitalisations,” Dr Henry warned.

What we are seeing now is probably re-infection of people previously infected with previous variants of Covid-19.” 

These variants are “becoming more widespread because of their ability to escape immunity”, he said.

“This is all the more reason to encourage those for whom an additional booster is advised, those over-65 and those over-12 who are immunocompromised, to avail of the additional booster to confer protection not just against serious illness but from re-infection with these new sub-types which are becoming more prevalent,” he said.

However he said there is no evidence these variants are more virulent than previous variants.

University Hospital Limerick is treating the highest number of Covid patients of any hospital in the country with the most recent data showing 54, followed by St Vincent’s University Hospital in Dublin with 40 Covid patients.

The HSE data shows 13 Covid patients in University Hospital Kerry, 11 at Cork University Hospital and 10 in University Hospital Waterford.

Data shows there are 11 patients at CUH with Covid-19. Picture: Denis Minihane

There were seven Covid-patients at University Hospital Tipperary.

Across the Dublin hospitals under the Children's Health Ireland umbrella, there were eight children with Covid-19. This included two admitted to ICUs among the 20 children needing intensive care for a variety of reasons.

Among adult ICU patients 24 were admitted to ICUs among the 264 occupied ICU beds.

Overall there were just six adult ICU beds available across Munster including three in CUH and three in UHL with none available in Tralee, Waterford, Tipperary or the Mercy Hospital in Cork.

Up to June 7, the Health Protection Surveillance Centre said 7,416 people had died linked to Covid-19 here.

The deaths of four people were notified to the HPSC during the first week of this month according to the latest figures on its website.

Those receiving cancer treatment have been advised to wear respirator face masks by the Irish Cancer Society.

As well as vaccinations and booster shots, the HSE has also urged people to open windows when meeting people indoors and to wear masks on public transport, in healthcare settings like pharmacies or hospitals and in crowded settings.

The Irish Cancer Society has advised people in active cancer treatment to wear respirator facemasks (FFP2 or N95 masks) in crowded indoor areas including public transport.