The number of people in hospital with Covid-19 has topped the peak of the first wave and is inching towards the dreaded 1,000 mark.
HSE chief Paul Reid today warned that there are now 921 coronavirus patients in hospital beds – a figure that's higher than the 881 recorded amid the very worst of Ireland's first wave in the spring.
And figures from last night reveal there are currently 76 people in ICU, as health bosses warn of "relentless" pressure on the country's health service amid still-swelling case numbers.
Reid tweeted yesterday that the health service is "under real threat" as a result of spiralling infection rates, adding: "Primary & GP services are under relentless strain."
This morning, he added that "we've now exceeded the peak level of the 1st wave.
"Everyone gets how serious this is now," he wrote.
"Let's all do what's needed, turn this around, save lives, whilst the vaccine arrives."
Yesterday, the Chief Medical Officer warned that Ireland is likely to see a massive spike in the number of deaths from Covid-19 over the coming weeks.
Dr Tony Holohan 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.
"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.
