Covid cases and hospitalisations are soaring across Ireland as the world grapples with yet another wave of the virus.
Almost 20,000 new cases were confirmed here on Friday as the new BA.2 variant drives a surge in infections.
Meanwhile, there are more than 1,400 people being treated for the disease in hospital, of which over 50 are in ICU.
READ MORE: Why is the BA.2 Covid variant rampant in Ireland and what are the symptoms? Luke O'Neill explains
The worrying trend has led to discussions once again about Ireland's public health measures and whether further restrictions are warranted.
Immunology experts, the World Health Organisation and government leaders have all voiced concern in recent days about the situation with coronavirus here.
Ireland is in the middle of a "global wave" with the WHO showing an 8% increase in cases across the world over the past week, Prof Luke O'Neill explained.
The Trinity College immunologist is urging people to continue wearing masks in crowded settings, like public transport, for another few weeks.
"It’s still a seasonal virus, it spreads in winter and early spring. It’s still out there and masks give protection. Even though BA.2 is more transmissible, if you do wear a mask and you do spread it, the dose will be lower," he said.
While he believes masks should be "mandated" on public transport again, he does not believe other restrictions should be implemented as "normality" is on the horizon.
His main concern is that another variant will emerge, "which might break through and be more nasty".
"There’s a risk of that for definite, every time the virus divides you might end up with another variant that could be nasty," he said.
"There’s no guarantee it gets milder as time goes by, that's a misunderstanding of how viruses work.
"There may be another variant that can cause more severe disease but the good news is we can see it coming and the booster and the fourth shot will protect against severe disease with any variant.
"We shouldn't be that fearful of it but we should be aware of it and prepare for it."
It comes after the World Health Organisation criticised Ireland this week as being one of the countries that "brutally" eased restrictions.
The WHO recommended that the Irish government brings back Covid mask rules in some settings.
The WHO's special envoy on Covid-19, Dr David Nabarro, on Friday said as cases rise again, the government should be implementing a return to mask-wearing and social distancing.
"If I were in Ireland right now, I would be expecting there to be a request for mask-wearing in confined spaces where there may be crowds, such as public transport, for example, and hospitality venues that are hot and unventilated,” he said.
"I would be expecting those to be the kind of places where mask-wearing and physical distancing become strongly recommended."
However, the government is not looking to introduce additional measures in response to the spike in cases nationwide.
Speaking in Brussels on Thursday, Taoiseach Micheal Martin said the latest jump in infections does not call for further restrictions.
He said at this point the Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan does not see the need for any widespread rules to contain this leg of the virus.
“This current wave seems to be less impactful, less virulent, the CMO is of that view, than earlier variants, and it doesn’t justify further economic restrictions," he said.
Meanwhile, Tanaiste Leo Varadkar said on Wednesday night that a new group to advise the Government on Covid affairs is expected to be set up “imminently.”
There is still no definitive answer on whether or not new restrictions could be imposed in time, however, Leo Varadkar spoke at a conference on Wednesday and said: “It isn’t a surprise that we’re seeing an increase in infections.
“What is reassuring is that many or even a half of the people who are in hospital with Covid would be in hospital anyway.”
However, the Tanaiste did say “we don’t want to be turning on and off restrictions."
“We do need to live with this virus and the solution in my view is vaccination," he added.
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