DUBLIN (Reuters) – About 4,000 additional positive tests for COVID-19 in the last two to three days have yet to be formally confirmed, meaning the situation is worse than recent record daily figures suggest, a senior health official said on Thursday.
Ireland reported more than 1,500 cases for the third day in a row on Thursday. To relieve extreme pressure on the testing system, asymptomatic close contacts of confirmed cases will no longer be advised to get tested and will instead be asked to restrict their movements for 14 days.
The head of Ireland’s COVID-19 modeling group, Philip Nolan, said the total number of people in hospital with COVID-19 will likely double to between 700 and 1,000 people by early January, potentially surpassing the first wave peak. That could reach an “intolerable” 1,500 to 2,000 patients if the virus is not suppressed, he said.
(Reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
