Record 1,022 in hospital with Covid-19 as just 31 critical care beds available
Critical Available Hospital Along For With The Two Mercy Care Use Cork Hospital Have University Beds Just
A record number of Covid-19 patients are being treated in Irish hospitals for the second day in a row.
There are 1,022 people on wards across the country, while 88 patients are in ICU receiving treatment.
In the past 24 hours, there have been 109 admissions associated with Covid-19 and 61 discharges.
The Chief Executive of the HSE, Paul Reid, described the situation as "a sad milestone that nobody wanted to happen".
In a tweet, Mr Reid said: "It concerns me relaying this. But I do know we will get through a tough time ahead, with your help," he said.
"At the other side, it will be better," he said.
We've reached a sad milestone that nobody wanted to happen.We've now 1,022 patients very sick in hospital with #COVID19 & 88 in ICU. It concerns me relaying this. But I do know we will get through a tough time ahead, with your help. At the other side, it will be better. @HSELive
— Paul Reid (@paulreiddublin) January 7, 2021
In hospitals across the country, there are only 380 general beds available, the highest number found in Beaumont in Dublin at 66, while Cork University Hospital has the lowest capacity of just one.
According to the HSE, there are only 31 critical care beds available in Irish hospitals, 11 of which are designated for children.
CUH, along with the Mercy Hospital, have just two critical care beds available for use.
Meanwhile, the health minister has said there will be almost half a million doses of Covid-19 vaccines in Ireland by the end of March.
This includes a combination of 350,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine and 110,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine, with hopes high that the AstraZeneca vaccine and a further vaccine from Johnson & Johnson could be approved soon too, boosting supplies further.
The latter comes in a single dose and is easier to apply, Stephen Donnelly told RTÉ radio, adding that by the end of February, he anticipated that all nursing home residents and staff along with frontline workers will have been vaccinated.
The minister also defended the pace of the vaccination programme on Newstalk.
"We’re not slow. We’re moving at the same pace as the rest of Europe."
"Ireland’s approach was that the only constraint would be the arrival of the vaccine," he said.