'Significant' rise in Covid hospital admissions in Northern Ireland as seventh wave in two years hits

However, the Public Health Agency (PHA) admits that the official numbers are just the tip of the iceberg.

The Public Health Agency has referred to the current rise in hospital admissions as "significant".

It is the seventh such "wave" of Covid in two years.

• ‘WAVES EXPECTED TO CONTINUE...’

The following numbers have been gleaned "through clinical and routine testing," says the PHA... but it adds: "Infection episodes detected through clinical testing reveal only a small fraction of the true number of cases, because only a minority of people who have COVID-19 disease are tested."

In the week ending June 23, this PHA data shows there were 441 new cases detected – an increase on 409 in the previous week.

A week before that, the figure had been 259; before that, 200, and before that it was 160.

The figures also show a spike in hospital admissions: around 100 in the most recent week, about 70 the week before that, and about 45 the one before that.

"People build up immunity against Covid-19 through being vaccinated against it, or by becoming infected with the virus," said the PHA.

"Over time, however, this immunity reduces and the virus continues to evolve, making the virus less recognisable to the immune system.

"When enough people become susceptible again, a wave of infection follows. This pattern has been seen repeatedly and is expected to continue into the future.

"In the most recent few weeks there has been a significant rise in admissions.

"The number of admissions noted in the last week is similar to the peak levels seen in the previous three waves, but smaller than earlier waves.

"It is hard to predict when each wave will stop growing and start falling again... but it is possible that it will continue to grow further before it falls again."

• AN ‘UNEXPECTED’ JUMP?

Katherine Kidd, head of professional services at Community Pharmacy NI – representing almost all of the 511 or so pharmacies in the Province - said over the last week the PHA has limited the number of free testing kids it is giving to stores.

They are provided under a scheme set up in 2021 aimed at especially-vulnerable people.

"Just this week we did receive notification from PHA that there had been an increase in orders for those tests, so it has actually I think exceeded what they'd have been anticipating," she said.

"So they have limited then the quantities that can be ordered in the short term [by each pharmacy] – they're currently getting additional stock to meet the demand.

"I think it was obviously somewhat unexpected, so they’ve limited the quantities then that community pharmacies can order in the short term just until they get further stock."

This limiting of supply, she added, applies to the free kits – not the kits people can purchase.

As for advice on visiting pharmacies, if you think you have Covid, she said: "I think it's probably like most other illnesses now in the way Covid is being managed.

"Obviously some people do still choose to wear masks – that's totally fine.

"But the isolation requirements are no longer the same so certainly if anyone is concerned their community pharmacy would be there to provide them with any advice or answer any queries they have, or if they feel they need some sort of medicine to support their syptoms."

The law on coronavirus in NI was always a messy patchwork of little pieces, some of which replaced others in time, and some of which expired.

But as far as the News Letter can deduce there have been no enforceable laws on coronavirus since March 24, 2024, when Schedule 18 of the Coronavirus Act 2020 expired.

This gave the NI Department of Health powers to do things like ban events or quarantine passengers.

The PSNI would not answer when asked if there are any Covid laws it is still enforcing; it referred the News Letter to the Department of Health. A response is awaited.