“Healthy people are getting very sick. Everyone gets how serious this is now.”

HSE Chief Executive Paul Reid has said that the Covid-19 situation in Ireland is now worse than it was during the first wave of the virus last year. As of Wednesday morning (6 January), there are 921 people in hospital receiving treatment for Covid-19, exceeding the previous peak of 881 recorded on 15 April last year. According to HSE data, 75 of the 921 people in hospital in the Republic of Ireland are in intensive care units (ICU), while 42 people are on ventilators. The number of hospitalisations has jumped significantly from 2pm on Tuesday (5 January), when there were 840 patients hospitalised, 76 of whom were in ICU. There were 102 additional hospitalisations related to Covid-19 cases in the 24 hours up to 2pm on Tuesday. 5,325 new cases of Covid-19 were reported in Ireland on Tuesday, as well as 17 deaths, 16 of which occurred in January. Commenting on the situation on Twitter on Wednesday morning, HSE Chief Executive Paul Reid said: “With 921 people in hospital, we've now exceeded the peak level of the first wave. Healthy people are getting very sick. Everyone gets how serious this is now. “Let's all do what's needed, turn this around, save lives, whilst the vaccine arrives. We have to.” https://twitter.com/paulreiddublin/status/1346739705371643904 The government is expected to announce further restrictions on Wednesday, which will include the closure of school buildings and construction sites until the end of January and a requirement for all travellers into Ireland to provide a negative Covid-19 test.