Concern is growing in Government about the latest deterioration in the Covid-19 pandemic, with the State’s daily reported case numbers reaching their highest level in more than eight months.

Although the rise in cases was forecast, the rate at which the situation is worsening has prompted fears of a later than projected peak in figures.

Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly told the Dáil on Tuesday night "we have to be concerned that things will deteriorate further", as he introduced plans to roll over emergency health provisions for another three months, until next February.

Hospital Report

Mr Donnelly described the situation as very serious and said hospitals were filling up.

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Earlier, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the recent rise in the number of cases was “very concerning” and that it could not be guaranteed that restrictions would not be reintroduced.

However, if people collectively remained cautious “we can avoid the need to have a backward return to restrictions”.

The Department of Health reported 3,726 new cases of Covid-19 on Tuesday, the highest such daily figure since January 19th. The reporting is thought to include some backlog from earlier dates. The numbers of patients hospitalised and in ICU with Covid-19 fell.

Chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan said Covid-19 was circulating widely but insisted that "we have the tools to limit its spread".

Because of the growing pressure on ICUs, elective procedures for other patients were having to be cancelled, Mr Donnelly told the Dáil.

But he also said plans were being made to fund weekend and evening work in public hospitals in order to reduce waiting times for patients.

Under new “see and treat” services, minor procedures will be performed at the same time as outpatient consultations, the Minister said. Virtual clinics will be set up for patients, capacity will be increased in public hospitals and greater use will be made of private hospitals to treat public patients.

Mr Donnelly said a €350 million budget is available to support “vital” initiatives to address health waiting lists.

Booster drive

Meanwhile, the Health Service Executive said it expects to start administering booster vaccine doses to up to 300,000 healthcare workers "within the next week". Following a recommendation by the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (Niac), the booster dose will be given to the workers at least six months after the primary vaccine schedule was administered.

So far, more than 155,000 booster doses have been administered to at-risk groups, the HSE said.

Niac said its recommendation for booster shots would not immediately help to control outbreaks but may ultimately help maintain continuity in health services.

It said unvaccinated people with Covid-19 posed the “greatest risk” of transmission in the health system, but added that vaccinated healthcare workers with breakthrough infections can “unwittingly” cause outbreaks in hospitals and care homes, affecting both staff and patients.

In Northern Ireland, two more people with Covid-19 have died and a further 1,114 cases of the virus have been confirmed, the North's Department of Health said on Tuesday. A total of 381 people were being treated for Covid-19 in the North's hospitals, with 36 in intensive care.