The number of covid patients at the region’s main hospital jumped by more than 50% over the long bank holiday weekend.
The latest HSE figures show 89 patients were being treated for the virus at University Hospital Limerick this morning, up from 58 on Friday.
Visiting restrictions have been re-introduced at the Dooradoyle facility, due to high levels of covid-19 in the community, with hospital management saying the decision was taken to keep patients and staff safe and maintain essential services.
Parents visiting sick children, visitors assisting confused patients, such as those with dementia and people visiting patients under critical or end of life care are exempt.
Nationally, the number of patients in hospitals has jumped by a quarter in the past week, leading to calls for more mask wearing, but GP Denis McCauley from the IMO doesn’t think it should be legally required:
Meanwhile, the latest INMO figures show the level of overcrowding at UHL remains extremely high, with 79 people on trolleys there this morning, 45 of those in the Emergency Department.
