A top health expert has spoken of when Ireland can expect a "surge" in coronavirus cases.
This comes as politicians and health officials have warned about a sudden spike that could have a major effect on hospitals.
Dr Emily O'Connor, President of the Irish Association for Emergency Medicine, has said that the country could expect the rapid increase in the next week or two, the Irish Mirror reports.
She told Morning Ireland on RTE Radio One: "Further pressures are coming down the line. We aren't truly yet, we feel, in surge.
"We're expecting it in the next week or two. Our nursing home colleagues feel that it's occurring in nursing homes now, and that we are told to expect it within the next week or two."
Dr O'Connor said that the increase will happen "quickly and strongly" over the next fortnight, and that a huge amount of people "will get seriously ill, quickly and at the same time".
She warned that this is when Irish hospitals could start to struggle, and said that approximately 5% of all positive cases are likely to need critical care.
Dr O'Connor added: "We're in touch with our colleagues from the UK, and what they're telling is that when the surge occurs, it happens quickly and strongly.
"So we're worried that when the surge comes into an emergency department, or even a region or the country, that a large number of people will get seriously ill quickly, and at the same time.
"And that is very much is when the hospital system will struggle to support all the patients with oxygen."
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