The number of people hospitalised with influenza reached 869 over the weekend and there is an expectation the number will grow, according to Health Service Executive (HSE) boss Bernard Gloster.
HSE modelling has shown that as many as 900 people may end up in hospital with the flu, and Mr Gloster conceded this higher number could be breached.
The 869 people in hospital with flu on Sunday morning was up from 530 the previous week.
The HSE chief provided the figures during an interview with RTÉ Radio.
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It comes at a time when the overall number of people attending emergency departments for various health issues between December 20th and 27th reached 34,400, up from 27,800 last year.
Mr Gloster said that overall some 8,500 people were admitted to hospital, up from 7,500 last year, but also that there have been “record discharges over the course of the seven-day period”.
He said: “That is what’s keeping the system to some degree stable, but there is no doubt we’re seeing today an increase in the number of sites under pressure.”
Asked about the estimated flu-season peak, Mr Gloster said: “We’re still working to the figure of 900 [people in hospital with flu] for the coming week.”
He said the “rationale for that is we’ve seen figures double every week of the number of cases in the community”.
Mr Gloster said data from Christmas week is “notoriously unreliable because of the amount of healthcare practices that aren’t processing information”.
He said an update he is expecting to receive from HSE public health experts on Monday “will tell us whether or not we will breach the 900 outer limit that we expected. But in any event the issue isn’t whether or not so much we breach that – the issue is now for how long the tail of the flu will last, even if we do reach the peak this coming week.
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“It can have a very long tail that can impact right through January.”
He said the HSE is “in charge” of the situation, but also asked for the public’s assistance in controlling the circulation of flu.
He said if people have flu-like symptoms they should start by seeking the advice of a pharmacist, but then contact their family doctor or an out-of-hours service.
Mr Gloster also said: “If you feel in any way particularly distressed with chest pain or breathing difficulties, then of course you should attend an emergency department if no other clinician is available to you.”
He said: “Flu is very active in the community and of course the basics of hand hygiene and cough etiquette always apply,” with further information available on the HSE website.
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