Record 931 patients on trolleys amid calls for return of mandatory mask wearing

In response to the INMO call for mandatory mask-wearing advice, a spokesman for Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said the Government takes its advice on any population-wide measures such as a mandatory mask mandate from the Chief Medical Officer and the Covid Advisory Group. “No such advice has been recommended”. Picture: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie

More than 931 patients were on trolleys or chairs on Tuesday morning waiting for a hospital bed, the highest number since records began in 2006, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation has said.

The number includes 26 children admitted to hospital but unable to get a bed.