Ireland is likely to see a massive spike in the number of deaths from Covid-19 over the coming weeks, Dr Tony Holohan has warned.
The Chief Medical Officer issued the terrifying warning as daily case numbers mushroom into the mid-thousands, with hospitals forced to curtail non-essential services amid rising infection rates.
"We will see a very sharp increase in mortality," Dr Holohan told Pat Kenny on Newstalk this morning.
"I am sorry to say that that will be the case. January will see a significant multiple of the number of deaths that we saw over the course of both November and December as a consequence of this."
He said the explosion in case numbers over recent days – which has seen records broken daily when it comes to infection rates – occurred because people didn't come forward for testing around Christmas.
The impact of "a very sharp increase" in hospitalisations, he added, will be felt keenly across the health service – which has already begun to curtail non-essential medical procedures as a result of increased demand.
"The amount of infection in this country right now is enormous," Dr Holohan said.
"We've never faced this level of infection.
"The risk to people in this country now is not from international travel – it's from other people in this country.
"What we have to ensure now is that we mitigate and minimise the impact."
And he added: "The person who's a risk to you now is not the person who's come in from the UK or elsewhere.
"The person who's a risk to you now is another person within this country – within this community."
He also weighed in on the situation surrounding schools – which look likely to remain closed beyond next Monday.
Dr Holohan said public health chiefs are concerned about the increased rate of infection among school-goers.
