Reopening hospitality as the Delta variant of Covid-19 spreads will not result in a major surge of hospitalisations according to a local virology expert.
Assistant professor of virology at University College Dublin and Roscommon native, Dr Gerald Barry says increasing vaccine levels should prevent a major surge of patients hitting hospitals across the country when indoor dinning returns.
However he has warned that the reopening of the sector will see a jump in infections and that any infection can lead to serious illness and death.
Speaking to the Joe Finnegan Show today, Dr Barry says if the health service and vulnerable groups can be protected, there's no reason hospitality cannot be reopened.
The virology expert says the government now has to decide what they are willing to see as an acceptable level of hospitalisations:
