AROUND 1,000 new cases of Covid-19 are expected to be announced by the Department of the Health today, HSE chief Paul Reid has warned.
Speaking at a press briefing on Thursday afternoon, Mr Reid said his team is on high alert and expects today's figures to get very close to the dreaded 1,000 mark, and possibly even exceed it.
The last time that many cases were identified in Ireland across 24 hours was over five months ago, during the height of the third wave.
Ireland recorded 783 new cases on Wednesday - the highest figure since mid-February. But it appears that total will be bested this evening.
"Yesterday, as you know, we saw one of the highest numbers of cases in one day, since February, as almost 800 cases," Mr Reid said.
"We know and expect that today's cases will be approximately 1000.
"Any kind of look forward ahead will clearly demonstrate this is a very significant rise of case numbers."
We want to protect more people against Delta, so we're pleased to now invite those aged 25-29 to register online for an MRNA Covid19 vaccine. The rising daily cases are a real concern and we'll continue to accelerate calling younger ages forward, once supplies permit. @HSELive
— Paul Reid (@paulreiddublin) July 15, 2021
Covid-19 cases have been steadily rising in Ireland over the past few weeks, due to the emergence and subsequent dominance of the Delta variant.
While the country's vaccine programme is going from strength to strength, the Delta variant is believed to be more transmissible than the original strain, so is still having a significant impact.
With the reopening of hospitality right around the corner, there are fears the situation could quickly get out of control, but Mr Reid insists that the vaccine rollout will ensure the impact of the Delta variant is reduced as much as possible.
Taking to Twitter, he announced that anyone aged 25-29 in Ireland can now register online for their vaccine.
"The rising daily cases are a real concern and we'll continue to accelerate calling younger ages forward, once supplies permit," he wrote.
See More: Covid-19, Delta Variant, HSE, Paul Reid
