James Cox

A total of 2,370 new cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed today.

There are 1,149 PCR-confirmed cases, while 1,221 people registered a positive antigen test through the HSE portal.

412 Covid-19 patients are in hospital, which is down by 23.

Thirty-six are in ICU, a decrease of two on yesterday.

Predictions from the World Health Organisation (WHO) that Ireland will face another surge in Covid-19 cases as the summer arrives are “a bit disturbing,” Professor Luke O’Neill has said.

The WHO's special envoy on Covid-19, Dr David Nabarro, warned on Wednesday that Ireland will see another surge in four to six weeks.

The latest wave of the virus – likely the largest to date due to the lifting of all restrictions and the scaling-back of the test and trace system – only receded this month, with hospitalisations falling to the lowest level of the year this morning.

However, Prof O’Neill, who is a professor of biochemistry at Trinity College Dublin and a member of the new Covid-19 Advisory Group replacing the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet), said he also believes the situation will worsen once again.