A fourth wave of Covid-19 could shut some down hospital services again and lead to delays in diagnosing diseases such as cancer.
That's the warning from one GP after it was confirmed Ireland now has the fourth-highest incidence rate in the EU.
534 new covid-19 cases were confirmed yesterday and the HSE has warned the growth of the Delta variant will soon outmatch vaccine supply.
Monaghan based GP Dr Illona Duffy says the prospect of a fourth wave is cause for concern.
"Every time we see a wave we know it impacts on the health service, not only on general practice because we have more calls and are dealing with more cases of Covid and are dealing with more patients who are sick and requiring advice.
"More importantly we know that every time there is a wave we see other services close down, so that may be hospital inpatients, elective services, people who are going for tests that are maybe going to help rule out or diagnose a cancer."
