One in six people in Ireland experienced “Covid-like symptoms” in the past week, says Tony Holohan

The CMO made the comments as 4,650 new cases of Covid-19 were confirmed.

Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Tony Holohan has said approximately one in six people in Ireland experienced "Covid-like symptoms" in the past week. In a Twitter post, the CMO said the statistic came from data provided to the Department of Health by Amárach Research, with Covid symptoms including a cough, sore throat or high temperature. Holohan made the comments as 4,650 new cases of Covid-19 were confirmed on Thursday (18 November). As of 8am on Thursday, 643 Covid-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 118 are in intensive care units. https://twitter.com/roinnslainte/status/1461380908397875202 The Department of Health has said daily case numbers may change due to future data validation. Holohan said that the "single most important action" a person can take if they experience any symptoms of Covid-19 is to self-isolate and arrange a PCR test but not an antigen test. "If you want to avoid passing Covid-19 or other respiratory illnesses on to your friends, family or work colleagues, rapidly self-isolating as soon as your symptoms begin is the most important thing you can do," he said. https://twitter.com/CMOIreland/status/1461381620586401793 On Wednesday, the CMO warned of a potential 200,000 active Covid cases in Ireland in December, and the prospect of as many as 4,000 hospitalisations. "There's still two weeks between now and the beginning of December, so a minimum of 200,000 cases occurring in December, all of which are preventable. Each one of us can take simple measures," said Holohan. "People who are cases and who are symptomatic, they simply must self-isolate and then get a PCR test. Not an antigen test." Meanwhile, earlier on Thursday, HSE chief Paul Reid said some vaccination centres in Ireland offering booster doses of the Covid-19 vaccine are seeing "no-show rates" for appointments of 50%. "It's really important if you were offered a booster appointment, that you take it up," he said. "The more people receive those booster shots when they are due... the smaller number of people we expect we will see when we are dealing with hospitals." Main image via Sam Boal/Rollingnews.ie