NI hospitals could be treating 400 Covid patients by end of summer

By Rebecca Black, PA

There could be up to 400 patients in hospital with Covid-19 by the end of the summer as the number of cases increase, the chief scientific adviser has said.

More than 500 new cases of Covid-19 were notified in Northern Ireland on Sunday.

Professor Ian Young said it is inevitable that there will be increasing numbers of cases over the summer, and urged all those in the 18-40 age group to get their vaccine to minimise the impact of the next pandemic peak.

“It is likely to peak some time in August, possibly early September, based on our modelling and the question is to what extent that will lead through to hospital admissions,” he told BBC Radio Ulster.

“Because of the success of the vaccine programme, the number of admissions will be less compared with previous waves but it can still be very substantial and at the moment we’re anticipating possibly up to around 400 patients in hospital with Covid towards the end of the summer.

“That’s why we need to push vaccination now, we can reduce that number substantially, probably by around half, if we can get up to 90% of the adult population vaccinated.”

Around 80% of the adult population in Northern Ireland, eligible for a Covid-19 vaccination, has received one dose while more than 60% has received two.

Mobile vaccination clinics are being rolled out across Northern Ireland to make the jab more accessible and mass vaccination centres are offering walk-in appointments.

Health Minister Robin Swann has described the recent increase in the number of cases of the virus as a “serious concern”.

He said the latest cases are mostly within the younger age groups, and urged those to come forward to be vaccinated.