“Incidence rates are rising, which suggests an increase in hospitalisations may be ahead of us.”
Ireland currently has one of the lowest numbers of people in hospital or intensive care with Covid-19 throughout Europe, though the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) has warned an increase in hospitalisations “may be ahead”.
On Wednesday, HIQA published an updated international review that was submitted to the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) regarding public health measures and strategies to limit the spread of the virus.
Since April, HIQA found that all 19 reviewed countries saw reductions in their rates of Covid-19 hospitalisation and admissions to intensive care, as well as reductions in Covid-19 death rates.
However, the latest data also showed increasing Covid-19 incidence rates in over half of the included countries, which HIQA noted is likely due to the widespread transmission of the Delta variant.
In a statement, HIQA said: “Ireland currently has one of the lowest numbers of people in hospital or intensive care per million population of any of the included countries, surpassed only by Czechia, Denmark, Israel and Norway.”
That said, HIQA’s Deputy CEO and Director of Health Technology Assessment Dr Máirín Ryan warned Ireland needs “to remain cautious”.
“While our rate of hospitalisations and ICU admissions is low, incidence rates are rising, which suggests an increase in hospitalisations may be ahead of us,” Dr Ryan said.
“The Covid-19 vaccine remains the best method to limit the spread of SARs-CoV-2 and safeguard against serious illness.”
In the European Union, Spain and Germany have the highest share of population that is fully vaccinated at 39.5% and 37.6% respectively, with Ireland coming in at 36.2%, according to HIQA.
Speaking in the Dáil on Tuesday, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly stated that Ireland’s hospital system is facing challenges and has been close to full capacity in recent weeks – causing distress for patients, their families and frontline healthcare workers.
As to the reasons for this, Donnelly cited the opening of society as Covid-19 restrictions lifted and additional GP referrals due to issues accessing diagnostics after the ransomware attack against the HSE.
He added: “The increased attendances, Covid-19 related patient safety protocols and manual workarounds and reduced access to diagnostics due to the ransomware attack have all been contributing to slower progress with patients through the system.”
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