Chief Executive of the Health Service Executive Paul Reid has said there has been an acceleration of Covid-19 cases and positivity rates over the last 48 to 72 hours and it would appear that as Ireland exits a Delta wave, it is entering an Omicron wave.
In a worst case scenario, Mr Reid said, the country could be facing a potential 20,000 cases a day. However he said this trajectory could be changed if people follow public health advice and the booster campaign continues at pace.
Optimistic modelling estimates case numbers at around 8,000 a day, he said. Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Mr Reid said early evidence seems to indicate that Omicron is a less dangerous variant but it is highly transmissible - over five-and-a-half times more