Dublin, Mar 26 (IANS): The Irish Department of Health has reported an additional 9,324 PCR-confirmed cases of Covid-19, the highest figure since the country scrapped the mask mandate at the end of February.

The number of Covid-19 patients in Irish hospitals on Friday also hit a fresh high of 1,466 since then, according to the figures from the department.

There were 55 Covid-19 patients being treated in intensive care units (ICU) across the country as of Friday morning, said the department.

The latest ICU figure is moderately higher than that recorded at the end of February when there were 47 Covid-19 patients being treated in ICU in the country, Xinhua news agency reported.

Kingston Mills, a professor of Experimental Immunology at the Dublin-based Trinity College, said in a local television program on Friday that the recent easing of Covid-19 restrictions, including mask wearing, combined with a more transmissible variant BA2, has led to a huge increase in Covid-19 infections in Ireland.

He said the surge in Covid-19 cases is inevitable as it is difficult to stop transmission from a person who is not wearing a mask.

Starting from February 28, the Irish government no longer requires people to wear mask in pubic indoor settings and on public transport. Since then, the number of Covid-19 cases and hospitalisations in Ireland has been on a consistent rise.