Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said there are no new public health restrictions in the offing despite the country facing into a “new wave” of Covid-19 infection.
The new Covid variant, named Eris, has been detected in Ireland, the Health Service Executive (HSE) has confirmed. The HSE said the variant is “more transmissible” than previous circulating variants and has been associated with outbreaks, including in hospitals, “in Ireland and elsewhere”.
“There is currently no evidence of increased clinical severity of infection but people are still advised to follow Covid-19 prevention measures,” a HSE spokesman said on Wednesday.
Speaking to reporters in Belfast, Mr Varadkar said the country is in a “very different place” compared to when the virus first arrived in Ireland.
“I think we are facing a new wave of Covid,” he said. “There have been a lot of infections and there has been an increase in hospitalisations but I don’t anticipate the reintroduction of any restrictions.”
Mr Varadkar added that “a huge amount of immunity” had been built up because of vaccination.
“It’s not something we are complacent about in the slightest but it is a new virus, a virus that we have to live with, and there will be waves of infection just like there is with the flu virus in the wintertime in particular,” he said.
The Eris variant is a descendant of Omicron and has been previously detected in the UK and US. The health service said there has been no significant increase in infection severity observed in the State in recent weeks.
“The number of patients in ICU that had Covid-19 infection did increase slightly during July, but remains overall low,” the HSE said in a statement.
“However, as in previous waves, when Covid-19 case numbers increase substantially, there is a corresponding increase in hospital and ICU admissions and we are experiencing that now.”
There were 408 people in hospital with the virus on Wednesday morning, with 13 of those in ICU.
The HSE’s National Health Protection Service has reiterated the need for vulnerable settings like hospitals and care homes to review their infection prevention and control measures in line with guidance published by the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC).
“Covid-19 is still circulating in our community and is causing hospital admissions,” it said. “It’s important we all continue to take simple actions like handwashing and covering your cough that will protect our families and communities, particularly those at the greatest risk of severe illness.”
Dr Edward Mathews, deputy general secretary of the Irish Nurses & Midwives Organisation (INMO) said surges in Covid infections would be “a significant issue” over the coming weeks and months and there needed to be “serious measures implemented” to prevent the spread of infections in hospitals and to ensure adequate staffing.
“This means we need strong and consistent public health advice and messaging to reduce the spread of Covid in the community and reduce the numbers of people who need to attend hospitals or who are admitted while also being infected with Covid,” he said.
“It also means we need to see a plan being put forward for tackling the unusually high hospital overcrowding levels we’ve been seeing this summer.
“Overcrowded hospitals lead to higher rates of Covid spread, and if new variants are circulating over the coming weeks we cannot afford to let overcrowding escalate to the level of the extraordinary crisis we saw last winter or to any extent which endangers patients and staff.”
St Luke’s General Hospital in Kilkenny said it is continuing to advise patients to only attend its emergency department “if absolutely necessary” and not to bring children unless they are ill.
The hospital said due to increased infection control measures required at this time for Covid-19, it was temporarily suspending hospital visiting, except for those visiting the maternity unit and exceptional circumstances as determined by each ward manager.
University Hospital Galway is also continuing to deal with a Covid-19 outbreak affecting multiple wards while its emergency department is experiencing “very high attendances”.
“The high number of people attending who need to be admitted for ongoing treatment means that there is pressure on bed availability,” a spokeswoman for the hospital said.
Sligo University Hospital is also dealing with a Covid-19 outbreak which is affecting two wards. Visiting restrictions are in place in these wards.
