Update 3.15pm by Daniel McConnell: Fifty new hospital beds will be opened nationwide today, while 760 wait on trolleys. Health Minister Simon Harris is promising to open 199 new beds by the end of the month. Mr Harris said the difficulty is that too many people are simply too sick to be discharged from acute hospitals. Both Mr Varadkar and Mr Harris called on the public to heed the HSE's advice to stay away from hospitals where possible. Update 1.45pm by Vivienne Clarke: The HSE’s national director of acute hospitals has admitted that there is a shortage of hospital beds and gaps in community care.

Source: Irish Examiner January 06, 2020 10:37 UTC