The HSE has issued a warning after a new strain of Covid was discovered in Ireland.
The EG.5 strain, named Eris, is now circulating around the country.
The latest variant is a descendant of Omicron and is understood to be more transmissible than the other variants.
It has already become prevalent in the UK, with one in seven of those who are infected in Great Britain believed to have caught the strain.
Meanwhile, worrying rises in infections will put staff and patients at overcrowded hospitals in danger, a health expert has claimed.
There are 408 Covid-19 cases in hospitals around the country – a jump from 121 just two weeks ago.
A HSE spokesperson said: “If Covid-19 case numbers increase substantially, some level of increased hospital and ICU admissions is likely to follow.”
The HSE is urging people to stay at home if they have been infected.
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