The Irish health system is now under increasing strain because of the explosion in the number of Covid cases in recent days.
HSE boss Paul Reid revealed there are now 1,421 people in hospital as a result of the virus.
This has put a huge strain on other areas of the health system.
Already hospitals such as Letterkenny have been forced to cancel all elective surgery because of the demand on services due to Covid.
In a post on Twitter, Paul Reid said that 136 people have been admitted to hospital today alone, and there are a further 121 people in ICU.
He added “The best support we can all now give, is to avoid getting sick with Covid. This will help to get us out the other side of this.”
There’s now 1,421 people in hospital with #COVID19 (+136 today) & 120 in ICU. Our health system is under increasing strain.The best support we can all now give, is to avoid getting sick with Covid.This will help to get us out the other side of this. #StayHome #StaySafe @HSELive
— Paul Reid (@paulreiddublin) January 10, 2021
Last night, 4,842 new cases of the virus were recorded after Friday’s record high of 8,248.