Ireland Covid-19 update: Number of people in ICU with virus doubles in two weeks

The number of people in Intensive Care Units in hospitals across Ireland with Covid-19 has doubled in the last two weeks.

There has also been a big spike in the number of patients with confirmed cases of Covid in hospitals in Ireland.

According to figures from the Government's Covid-19 Data Hub, there are  currently 18 people with Covid currently in Intensive Care Units in Ireland. On Tuesday, December 5, that figure stood at nine. 

As of 8am this morning (Monday, December 18) there were 348 patients in hospitals in Ireland with confirmed cases of Covid 19. On Tuesday, December 5, that figure stood at 230. 

Up to December 6, over 7.9 million vaccines had been administered in Ireland including 3.8 million first and second doses. 

Total deaths attributed to Covid-19 in Ireland stood at 9,366 on November 14, which is the most recent data available.

This news comes as Irish health chiefs at the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) have released details of nasty new symptoms of the 'Pirola' Covid-19 variant circulating here.

The HSPC said: “A new variant with an unusually high number of mutations, BA.2.86, was detected in Israel first on August 13, 2023. It has since been found in many countries including Denmark, UK, USA and South Africa, though the prevalence to date is still relatively low and there does not appear to be any evidence of increased transmissibility or impact on clinical severity. There have been 111 Covid cases confirmed as infected with BA.2.8 6 lineages to date in Ireland.”

“Since CDC’s first post on BA.2.86 (Pirola) in August 2023, the proportion of infections caused by BA.2.86 (Pirola) has slowly increased. BA.2.86 (Pirola) is projected to account for 5-15% of currently circulating variants. CDC projects BA.2.86 (Pirola) and its offshoots like JN.1 will continue to increase as a proportion of SARS-CoV-2 genomic sequences," a spokesperson added.

“At this time, BA.2.86 (Pirola) does not appear to be driving increases in infections or hospitalizations in the United States. CDC contributed to and agrees with the World Health Organization’s recent risk assessment about BA.2.86 (Pirola) suggesting that the public health risk posed by this variant is low compared with other circulating variants, based on available limited evidence.”

“It is not possible at this time to know whether BA.2.86 (Pirola) infection produces different symptoms from other variants.”

According to the ZOE Health Study, the five most common symptoms of Omicron (of which Pirola is a strain) are:

- Runny nose
- Headache
- Fatigue (mild or severe)
- Sneezing
- Sore throat

New Scientist is reporting further symptoms, including diarrhoea, eye irritation and rashes.

The HSE lists fatigue, a dry cough and a high temperature/having chills among symptoms.

If you have any of these symptoms, the HSE advice is to stay at home and avoid contact with other people for 48 hours after your symptoms are mostly or fully gone.

If you test positive for Covid, the advice is to stay at home and avoid contact with other people for five days from the date you first had symptoms.