Covid-19 Ireland – Consistent set of Covid-19 trends offers great hope as hospital cases drop, says HSE’s Paul Reid

The latest Covid-19 data suggests Ireland could feel “big hope”, the HSE chief said.

Paul Reid said today that “a consistent set of Covid-19 trend for great hope”.

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He added that the number of people hospitalized with the virus had dropped to 940.

The number of people hospitalized has risen above 1,000 in recent days, causing concern among health officials.

Reid tweeted: “Fewer patients on oxygen support. GP referrals and overall cases both down.

“The booster vaccines and public response have so far mitigated the worst of the effects.”

He once again urged everyone to get a strong hit.

Taoiseach Michael Martin said yesterday that he hope Covid-19 restrictions can be lifted at the end of the month, allow events and the hotel sector to open after 8pm.

The National Public Health Emergencies Group will meet next Thursday and will advise the Minister of Health Stephen Donnelly on current restrictions.

Martin said the country is making a lot of progress on the Omicron variant.

He said: “I hope that we will be in a position to move forward in light of the current restrictions but I am not in a position to say anything definitive about that yet.

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“I wanted to really see what public health was saying, and also get a sense of where Omicron was.”

As of yesterday, people who have been in close contact with people who have received booster shots and do not have any symptoms will no longer need to be isolated.

They have been advised to wear more advanced masks and continue to perform routine antigen tests.

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