Public warned of a summer surge of Covid-19 as cases continue to rise

The Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) said circulation in Ireland is increasing and this is also seen in several other European countries.

The JN.1 variant is currently the dominant variant in Ireland and globally. Last week it was confirmed a Covid-19 variant – nicknamed FLiRT had gained ground here.

Virologists are using the term FLiRT to describe a family of different variants — KP.2, KP.3, JN.1.7, JN.1.1, and KP.1.1.

They are all descendants of the JN.1 variants dubbed Juno, that has been dominant in Ireland for the past few months.

The HPSC said in the week up to May 25 there were 306 confirmed Covid cases, up 19.1pc compared to the previous week when there were 257 reported.

The number of hospital patients with the virus rose to 154, an increase of 40pc over the same two-week period.

Provisional data indicates Covid cases are continuing to increase.

The HPSC said that since the emergence of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, in winter 2021, we have observed waves of increased Covid circulation every three to five months. The last substantial wave of Covid activity in Ireland was in December 2023 and January 2024.

“We experienced spring and summer waves of increased Covid circulation in 2022 and 2023. Thankfully these spring and summer waves have been smaller than the winter waves.

“There is no evidence of a new SARS-CoV-2 variant associated with more severe disease and indicators of severe Covid disease in Ireland remain low. However, as in previous waves, if Covid case numbers increase substantially, some level of increase in people experiencing severe disease is likely to follow. We have also seen in previous waves that increased circulation in the community results in an increase in outbreaks in nursing homes and other healthcare settings,” the HPSC said.

It said the spring booster dose of the Covid vaccine will be available until June 14 and it recommended that those eligible receive it as soon as possible.

The booster is available to you if you are aged 80 or older, aged 5 or older with a weak immune system or living in a long-term care facility for older adults

If you are age 70 to 79, you can request a vaccine. Talk to your GP or pharmacist about your reasons for wanting a booster.