THE PRESIDENT of the Irish Association for Emergency Medicine has revealed when Ireland can expect a “surge” in the number of coronavirus cases over the next two weeks.
Speaking to Morning Ireland on RTE Radio One, Dr Emily O’Connor told listeners that sharp increase is expected over the course of the next week or two.
Dr O’Connor warned that that caseloads will rise “quickly and strongly” over the next two weeks with significantly more people getting “seriously ill, quickly and at the same time”.
While some healthcare experts have suggested Ireland’s current lockdown strategy is helping to “flatten the curve” of cases, Dr O’Connor warned that Irish hospitals could still struggle under the weight of rising patient numbers.
She estimates that as many as 5% of all those admitted to hospital with the virus expected to require critical care.
At the time of writing 3,849 people across Ireland have tested positive for the virus.
Of that number, 98 have died in the Republic.
A further 13 deaths were recorded on Thursday, April 2, as part of 402 new confirmed cases of Covid-19.
Of these 13 deaths, four were females and nine were males while 10 of the 13 were already suffering from underlying conditions.
The 402 new confirmed cases represent the largest daily increase in Ireland so far.
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