A SENIOR doctor in Derry says a third surge of Covid-19 cases is expected in the middle of January.
Dr Tom Black warned that more cases of a new variant of Coronavirus are likely to be seen in the next few weeks, as is now happening in parts of England.
But Dr Black,, who is chair of the British Medical Association (BMA) in the North of Ireland, said that as more people are vaccinated, there should be some improvement in February and March.
The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine has been approved for use in the UK, with the first doses due to be given on Monday, January 4, 2021.
“We would expect to see a peak of hospital admissions and demands in probably the second and third week in January,” said Dr Black.
“Hopefully, we will keep the pressure off the intensive care units because that’s a real bottleneck with patient care.
“And with the vaccination hopefully we’ll see some improvement in February and March.”
Meanwhile, there has been a “significant rise” in Covid-19 cases, particularly in younger adults aged from 20 to 39, the health minister has said.
A further 14 coronavirus-related deaths have been recorded and 1,566 people tested positive in the past 24 hours.
It is the highest daily total of new cases since tests began but may include samples taken over the past week.
A further 141 people have tested positive in the Derry City and Strabane Disrict Council area with its death toll, mostly in hospitals, now at 93
Robin Swann said a month ago the 20-39 age group accounted for 27.5% of cases but this has now risen to 41.5%.
“The rise in this age group may be linked to behaviour and although young adults may think they are immune to Covid-19, their relatives and loved ones are not,” the minister said.
“We must all redouble our efforts to push down infection rates. That does not mean some people must make sacrifices and restrict their lives while others do not.”
The 14 deaths reported on Tuesday take the Department of Health’s overall death toll to 1,305.
Thirteen of those deaths occurred from Monday while the other death happened on another date.
Tags: