There were 644 new cases of Covid-19 over the past week, an increase of 54 per cent compared to the previous week, according to the latest figures from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC).
Its weekly report for July 30th to August 5th, published on Thursday, shows there were two Covid-19 related deaths over that period.
The highest number of new cases was among the 75-84 year-old age cohort, representing 22.2 per cent of cases. The HPSC said a total of 3,724 Sars-CoV-2 tests were performed last week, of which 666 (17.9 per cent) were positive, an increase compared to the previous week, when 11.5 per cent were positive.
There were 414 people in hospital with Covid-19 as of 8am this morning, with 12 of those in intensive care (ICU).
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The HSE confirmed on Wednesday the new Covid variant, named Eris, had been detected in Ireland and that it was “more transmissible” than previous circulating variants and has been associated with outbreaks, including in hospitals, “in Ireland and elsewhere”.
“There is currently no evidence of increased clinical severity of infection but people are still advised to follow Covid-19 prevention measures,” a HSE spokesman said.
Separate data published by the HPSC show there were 56 outbreaks of Covid-19 notified to it last week, close to double the amount the previous week.
Twenty-two of the outbreaks were associated with hospitals, 15 with nursing homes, five with residential institutions, three with community hospitals or long-stay units, while one was related to an “other healthcare service”.
Ten of the outbreaks were related to travel, with “cruise ships” in particular mentioned in the report.
The figures relate to the week ending August 5th, while the HPSC said regional departments of public health are currently prioritising the investigation and reporting of outbreaks in settings such as hospitals, nursing homes and residential institutions and “for this reason, outbreaks in other settings may be underestimated”.
There were 30 Covid-19 outbreaks notified to the HPSC for the week ending July 29th.
[ Covid-19 Q&A: What you need to know about the new variant nicknamed ErisOpens in new window ]
The Eris variant is a descendant of Omicron and has been previously detected in the UK and US.
Prof Luke O’Neill from Trinity College Dublin’s school of biochemistry and immunology said it was somewhat “a mystery” why Covid-19 numbers were rising but could be down to the new Eris variant or waning immunity.
“It’s the same in the UK, the UK have great data and they’re monitoring this very closely and they’re like us, they’re showing the exact same trends,” he said.
“Numbers are going up and we’re all scratching our heads. There’s two options – one is this new variant called Eris ... The evidence would suggest it’s more infectious.
“So therefore, it’s spreading more ... That’s one reason why this increase might be happening, the second is there may be some waning of immunity happening in some certain groups. That can happen too.”
Prof O’Neill added that those aged over 60 years should ensure they have received a Covid booster vaccination.
“There will be a vaccination campaign in the autumn, so make sure you’re up to date with your vaccines is the advice to them and also just to be a little bit careful, maybe around now because the virus counts are rising,” he added.
“So you might consider, like the old days, staying in well ventilated places, avoid crowded spaces if you’re vulnerable. If you’re not vulnerable, then carry on as usual. But, if you get symptoms stay home for 48 hours.”
The health service said there has been no significant increase in infection severity observed in the State in recent weeks.
“The number of patients in ICU that had Covid-19 infection did increase slightly during July, but remains overall low,” the HSE said.
“However, as in previous waves, when Covid-19 case numbers increase substantially, there is a corresponding increase in hospital and ICU admissions and we are experiencing that now.”
The HSE said that if you have tested positive for Covid-19, you should stay at home for five days and avoid contact with other people, especially those at higher risk from the virus.
