A further 6,735 people in Ireland have tested positive for COVID-19, the Department of Health has announced. 

461 hospital patients have contracted the virus - of whom 91 are being treated in ICU. 

The five day moving average now stands at 9,899 - down from 10,870 yesterday. 

Omicron

The Department of Health estimates that 87% of COVID cases in Ireland are from the Omicron strain and Infectious Diseases Specialist Professor Sam McConkey says Omicron is proving, thus far, less lethal than previous waves.

However, that may not be because the strain is less deadly but because so many of the cases have been among young people: 

“So far, there’s a lot less hospitalisations, meaning they say 70% less hospitalisations for the Omicron variant than Delta and I’m hoping that does translate into Ireland," Professor McConkey said, 

“And I caveat on that, that cases so far have been quite young people in South Africa, Denmark, the UK and Ireland so far. 

“And whether those gains will also be maintained in people in their 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, we just have to watch over the next two weeks.” 

While the new strain may be less lethal, it is also more infectious and Professor McConkey is advising businesses to roster back up staff: 

“There will be a very significant chunk of the population isolating. So as I’ve said… the biggest issue for businesses and for public sector organisations, like the hospitals where many of us work, is actually keeping enough staff who are not sick… to keep the show on the road.”

Queues form outside a walk-in vaccination centre in Greystones, Co Wicklow, 09-12-2021. Image: PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo

Boosters

Walk in vaccination centres also reopened today and DCU’s Professor of Health Systems Anthony Staines said that getting a booster was the best way to protect yourself virus: 

“The Omicron variant is here,” Professor Staines told Newstalk. 

“We haven’t taken all the measures we could have to stop the spread of the virus. But vaccination is something we can do that will reduce the impact greatly and will save lives. 

“So that’s why we’re really, strongly asking people to get it done.”

He continued: 

“It gives a great protection to the person themselves, but also gives protection to the health service - because there is a real risk that the number of cases we’re having at the moment that the health service will just be swamped. 

“It’s already under great stress but that could get much, much worse early in the new year and vaccination is probably our best shot at at least ending that or delaying that.” 

Main image: A healthcare worker takes a swab sample from a woman for COVID-19. Picture by: Aleksander Kalka/ZUMA Wire.