HSE boss Paul Reid has warned that an "explosive concoction" of eased restrictions and more mixing this Christmas could cause a Covid-19 surge that leaves the health service on its knees in January.
The CEO of the Health Service Executive pleaded with the public to reduce the number of household visits they allow over Christmas – even as restrictions ease over the festive period.
But he insisted that Ireland can stave off an early return to tightened restrictions, arguing that "this is all within our own capability for that not to happen."
Amid a "troubling" spike in case numbers, Mr Reid told RTE's Morning Ireland: "For us the concern is we get this kind of explosive concoction, when we have a major impact post-Christmas – when we know it's at our peak time of demand for services.
"The best Christmas present that I can ask the public to give our healthcare staff is to really protect yourselves in the coming two weeks, and give our healthcare staff a January to look forward to."
His comments come after Ireland recorded 431 cases of Covid-19 yesterday, amid an increase described as "troubling" by Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan.
The HSE head honcho said this morning that there are "very significant trends – concerning trends – that we are closely monitoring ourselves in the HSE.
"We do want people to look forward to Christmas, to look forward to it in the spirit of joy," said Mr Reid.
But he added: "The simplest message that we can say to people is: it is really about the number of contacts that you have.
"Reduce the household visits, keep it as strictly as you possibly can to a household."
He said the HSE is concerned by the possibility of a "lag effect" after Christmas, something he described as a cause for concern.
