A record number of patients are being treated for COVID-19 at the region’s main hospital today.
The latest HSE figures show 77 people were admitted with the virus at University Hospital Limerick this morning, a jump of 17 on the same time yesterday.
It comes as the numbers in intensive care units hits its highest level in eight months.
Across the country today, there are 1,022 patients being treated for the virus in hospitals.
This is the first time the figure has surpassed 1,000, and Head of the HSE Paul Reid has called it a sad milestone that nobody wanted.
There are 88 patients in ICU, meanwhile, 6 of those in UHL.
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has warned the figures are likely to rise even more:
NPHET will discuss the latest trends when it meets today – and the Chief Medical Officer says it’ll consider any further measures which might be needed.
Dr Tony Holohan says the presence of the UK strain is also an “emerging concern” and highlights the need for strict compliance with the rules.
The latest analysis suggests 25 per cent of cases looked at in the last week of 2020 contain the variant.
Leo Varadkar says further steps may include curbing the sale of alcohol after a certain time of the day, with work underway on new public health regulations to strengthen the law in this area.
He says the issue is not straight forward when it comes to laws on take-away pints:
