People need to 'reboot' their protective measures against Covid-19 as hospital cases hit the highest in over a year, according to a leading immunologist.
There are currently 1,127 people being treated for Covid-19 in Irish hospitals. This is the highest figure since February 2021.
Numbers in ICU are also on the rise at 52. This is up four on yesterday.
Professor of Immunology at DCU, Christine Loscher, says the rise in ICU cases creates concern for other hospital services:
"We've always been concerned that the impact of Covid cases on the healthcare system will not just impact on people in hospital with Covid but also on all of the other services that are provided to other people with other illnesses and other needs in the hospital.
"I guess it's a concern, particularly in the last couple of days to see the ICU figures change because that's one that has been declining for the last number of months and it's the first time that it has started to go up."
The number of Covid-19 cases in the community is also high and it is likely underreported according to Loscher.
She says that people need to go back to following public health measures, particularly mask-wearing:
"While the legal requirement and mandate for masks is gone, the need for masks is still there because Covid is very high in the community at the moment"
