As Ireland continues to battle the deteriorating Covid-19 situation signs continue to emerge that the country is in for a very difficult few weeks.
The country has been placed under strict Level Five restrictions provisionally until January 31 before they are reviewed.
Ireland has seen a staggeringly high number of cases confirmed in recent weeks with over 65,000 infections being reported.
And today it was revealed that Ireland has the worst seven day incidence rate in the world as Covid cases continue to spiral.
But there was some signs that Ireland could soon turn a corner this evening following the announcement of the latest figures.
Here's what you need to know:
'Glimmer of hope' as cases drop
While Ireland has seen unprecedented levels of infection in recent weeks tonight Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan said there was a "glimmer of hope" this evening.
A drop in cases was thankfully reported with 4,929 new infections confirmed while sadly 8 deaths were announced.
While the country still has a long way to go Dr Holohan said there is positive signs in respect of our daily case figures and positivity rate.
Professor Philip Nolan added: “We are beginning to see the first signs of the impact of the latest public health measures, with test positivity falling and case numbers starting to stabilise, but this will only continue if every one of us is committed to following the public health advice to stay at home and work from home as much as possible."
However health experts had more worrying warnings about the situation in hospitals.
Hospital situation to get worse before it gets better
There have been repeated warnings that Ireland's hospitals are under immense strain as Covid hospitalisations grow.
As of 2pm today 1,582 COVID-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 146 are in ICU.
Dr Michael Power, HSE Clinical Lead for Intensive Care, said this evening “Over the past weeks, we have seen a swift and sharp spike in admissions into critical care units across the country. As of this morning, we have 146 people sadly in ICU.
"This is nearing the springtime peak of 155 people in critical care. The potential long-term impacts on these patients’ health is stark and significant. ICUs are not where we want anyone to be. They are our very last line of defence against COVID-19."
Meanwhile Health Minister Stephen Donnelly admitted that projections show nearly all ICU capacity including surge capacity may be used in the weeks ahead.
UK virus variant accounting for more cases here
As cases continue to surge in Ireland a new more contagious strain of Covid-19 first identified in the UK is now accounting for more cases here.
Dr Cillian De Gascun, Medical Virologist and Director of the National Virus Reference Laboratory said: “Further testing of COVID-19 samples indicates that the UK variant continues to account for an increasing number of cases– more than 40% of the positive cases tested in the last 7 days can be traced back to this variant.
"The greater risk of infection posed by this new variant increases the risk of transmission of the disease in the community."
Positive vaccine update
While there has been some expression of frustration that Ireland's vaccine rollout is not moving fast enough, further positive signs came as the doses of the Moderna vaccine began being distributed across the EU this week.
The vaccine which offers over 90% efficacy against the virus is the 2nd vaccine to be approved in the EU and there are hopes the AstraZeneca vaccine could also be approved by the end of the month.
Professor Karina Butler, Chair of the National Immunisation Advisory Committee said this evening: “The roll out of the COVID-19 vaccine programme is underway. The recent authorisation of the 2nd COVID-19 vaccine for Europe, Moderna, and the latest news on the Astra Zeneca approval process gives us cause for hope for rapid community vaccination against COVID-19 in coming months.
Ireland's Covid incidence 'worst in the world'
Ireland's seven-day Covid-19 rate is now the worst in the world per million people after the post Christmas spike.
Figures published by the Our World in Data organisation show Ireland now has a daily rate of 1,394 cases per million.
The UK's rate, despite the staggering daily jumps there, is 810, while the USA's is 653.
Meanwhile, Leo Varadkar has said that the hospitality sector is unlikely to return before the end of March in a grim new lockdown update.
