The number of coronavirus patients in hospitals across Ireland has doubled over the past two weeks, new figures show.
A total of 49 confirmed cases of Covid-19 are currently in hospitals, according to data released by the Department of Health.
This is more than twice as many as the same figure on August 23, when the total stood at 21.
Two further people with the killer bug have been admitted to hospital over the last 24 hours.
Happily, one patient has been discharged since this time yesterday.
The current total is still significantly down from the peak in mid-April which saw 881 with the virus in Irish hospitals.
Six patients are being treated in intensive care units across the country. This is also significantly down from the peak of 155 on April 11.
It comes after a top doctor warned of an "inevitable" increase in coronavirus deaths in Ireland if case numbers continue to rise.
Professor Sam McConkey says vulnerable people will start to get sick again if we continue with our "present way of living".
And the infectious diseases expert also addressed concerns that tests may not be adequate at picking up people with Covid-19 arriving into the country.
He told Newstalk Breakfast: "Once we relax restrictions unfortunately with our present way of living the numbers are gradually creeping up.
"What that tells us we can either allow the number to gradually continue creeping up, and I fear that will inevitably lead to more hospitalisations, more deaths, more in ICU and more old people getting it and more outbreaks in vulnerable groups, as we had back in March and April, which was a national disaster.
"Or we'll have to change how we do things. We don't like these restrictions of closing everything down again, that's obviously where we don't want to be. So can we find another way?
"I think we should be copying and learning from what's happened in Germany and South Korea, there are some things they are doing that's different from us."
