The fifth wave of Covid-19 in Ireland is continuing after a further 2,605 cases were confirmed by health officials.
As of 8am today, 487 Covid-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 99 are in ICU.
The news comes after the World Health Organisation detailed what it believes will be an effective way of making it through the winter without any major Covid surges.
Health experts have fairly well ruled out a national lockdown for Ireland, and say that local restrictions should be imposed in areas where a surge occurs.
As hospital and ICU admissions continue to fluctuate, Dr. David Nabarro said the spike in cases will likely be seen for several more weeks and will only “slow if there is a conscious effort by people” to lower transmission.
Speaking to Newstalk, Dr. Nabarro explained that; “There may be some locally imposed restrictions, and that’s what I consider to be the right way of going about things when you have a big spike in cases and hospital services are being overwhelmed.
“I don’t see that as something to be worried about: I see that as the correct response to a surge in Covid cases.”
He said that thanks to Ireland's tracing system, officials generally know where the outbreaks are coming from and can act on those individual areas.
