The Chief Medical Officer has said a small number of cases of the AY 4.2 variant have been detected in Ireland, but there is no evidence it is a "vaccine beater" or has a transmission advantage over Delta.
Dr Tony Holohan said that Covid-19 is going to become endemic and will causes challenges in terms of surges of infections, as he urged people to get back to basic behaviours, such social distancing, handwashing and wearing masks. "That's what society will be like, as we move forward, and we deal with the fact that Covid as a disease isn't something that isn't going to be eliminated. "It is going to be endemic, it is going to cause challenges for us in terms of surges of infection from time to time, that are going to have to be responded