The HSE is asking some hospitals to prioritise urgent treatment and Covid care over the next two weeks due to pressure on the system.
The HSE is asking some hospitals to prioritise urgent treatment and Covid care over the next two weeks due to pressure on the system.
The executive has also asked hospital managers to identify extra ICU capacity to deal with an expected rise in Covid patients.
There are 611 people with the virus in hospital and 118 in intensive care - with just 17 adult ICU beds available nationwide.
HSE boss Paul Reid says they're putting measures in place to ease the pressure on hospitals: