The number of Covid-19 patients hospitalized slightly down

The number of hospitalized patients with Covid-19 has dropped slightly.

This morning, 206 patients were being treated for the virus, down 11 from yesterday’s figures.

Of these patients, 34 are in intensive care units.

The Ministry of Health was informed yesterday of 1,522 new cases of Covid-19.

Chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan said more than 20,000 cases have been reported in the past two weeks.

He said 17% of those cases were in people who were fully vaccinated, which he said is “very much in line with what we would expect as a growing proportion of our population get vaccinated.”

Dr Holohan said the vaccines are effective and, although they do not prevent all cases, “they offer excellent protection against serious illness and greatly reduce the risk of hospitalization”.

The hospital with the highest number of confirmed Covid-19 patients is Limerick University Hospital which has 18 cases.

Sligo University Hospital has 17 cases, while St James’s Hospital and Dublin’s Tallaght Hospital have 15 each.

The latest HSE operational report shows that there are 123 general acute care adult beds available in the hospital system. There are also 34 free adult intensive care beds.

In total, across the health system, there are 297 adult intensive care beds staffed and open.

Latest Coronavirus Stories

In Northern Ireland, two coronavirus-related deaths have been reported along with 1,305 new cases.

Meanwhile, Professor Immunologist Luke O’Neill said it should be possible to safely host an electric picnic next month, and allowing events like this to resume would greatly encourage young people to to get vaccinated.

Speaking on RTÉ’s Today with Philip Boucher-Hayes, he said 90% of the adult population should be vaccinated by then.

“Therefore, if we don’t perform it, are we saying that the chance of music festivals ever happening again is now in question?” he said.

Last week, The Departmental Council of Laois refused to grant a license to organize the music festival at Stradbally Hall Estate next month. Following the decision, organizers of the electric picnic said they would reconsider their options.

Professor O’Neill said vaccination certificates are mandatory for the event and therefore it should not become a super broadcast event and overwhelm the hospital system.

In addition, he said, most of the people attending the event would be under the age of 25 and have a high threshold of resistance to Covid-19.

He admitted it was a complicated decision to make, but said the country must move on to life with Covid-19.

Professor O’Neill also said Ireland is on the verge of having the worst mental health crisis it has ever seen, and this needs to be factored into every decision made.

The electric picnic would be a great way to alleviate mental health issues, he said.