A summer wave of Covid-19 is likely to be on the way, according to some of the country's leading medical professionals. Experts said they are waiting to see what the next wave will look like as coronavirus cases in hospital continue to rise.
The number of people in hospital who have tested positive for the disease rose to 360 today - almost double the 181 inpatients with the virus two weeks ago.
In the same time period, Covid-positive intensive care numbers have increased from 18 to 23. ''We may have a wave with a mutation that escapes vaccines better,'' said Professor Clíona Ní Cheallaigh, consultant in infectious diseases at St James's hospital in Dublin.
Scientists are closely tracking the latest variants from Omicron and are unsure how severe the next wave may be. ''We should use this time wisely,'' Professor Ní Cheallaigh told RTÉ News. ''A lot of the problems we faced in earlier waves, including ICU capacity and health system capacity, have not been fixed.'' Professor Ní Cheallaigh warned that Ireland needs to be prepared for the next wave of Covid ''because by the time the wave hits, it is too late to do any of that work''.