A leading health official has said he is "jubliant" as the situation of Covid-19 in Ireland improves - with thousands of people being vaccinated each day.
Dr Colm Henry appeared on Newstalk Breakfast on Friday morning to discuss the latest data that we have on Covid-19.
The Chief Clinical Officer of the HSE said he was delighted with the reaction of the public to the health guidelines over the last few months, hailing them for their efforts to control the virus.
He said: "We now see for the first time that the 14-day incidence rate drop below 100, it was up above 1,000 in January.
"At one point in January, we had more than 1,000 healthcare workers in hospital - that's now down to single figures. We've gone from having seven outbreaks a day in nursing homes or hospitals, that's now been squashed too.
"I'm not a spokesperson for NPHET, but I am jubilant over the effect the vaccination programme is having. It's saving lives, it's releasing people from the binds of social restrictions."
With the Delta variant taking hold in the UK and cases of it slowly increasing here, Dr Henry said he was not overly concerned about Ireland's current situation.
Making reference to Alpha and Beta variants which ravaged the country in 2020, he said: "It's not the first time we've faced a variant."
Dr Henry added: "Delta is running amok in England and Wales, it's gone up in terms of cases per day from 30% to over 90% of the cases and yes it's 60% more transmissible - but there's good news after people are vaccinated: there was a 92% reduction if you're fully vaccinated in terms of risk of hospitalisation.
"I have no doubt the number here will go up, but if we keep it low, we'll be able to get through the population quicker and make it less scary for all of us."
On the issues of antigen tests, Dr Henry gave an update which came as a surprise to host Shane Coleman.
"We are supporting the pilot use of antigen tests in certain situations," he said.
"We're putting them in higher education institutions and we could have them for asymptomatic workers in meat plants.
"Our experts can deploy antigen tests in areas of high incidence rates if they believe it to be the correct method - but as a standalone test, it's not something we'd advocate as a whole."
