Covid spike: 'We should be increasing the wearing of masks at the moment'

People wearing face masks as a precaution wait for a doctor appointment inside a hospital in Barcelona, Spain, Monday, Jan. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

The HSE’s national clinical lead in emergency medicine, Dr Gerry McCarthy, has said there should be increased mask-wearing to curb the rise in covid cases.

There has been a sharp increase in people sick with flu and covid-19 in the first week of January within emergency departments across the country.