Covid-19: GP's warning as Delta cases rise in Northern Ireland

Dr Frances O'Hagan says people should be concerned about the spread of the Delta variant

People in Northern Ireland "have to look over our shoulders" as more cases of the Delta variant of coronavirus are identified, a GP has said.

Dr Frances O'Hagan, deputy chair of the British Medical Association in NI, told the BBC's Sunday Politics programme the variant was much more transmissible.

She said it was spreading between people who were either not vaccinated or had only received their first jab.

On Friday, 111 cases of the variant were confirmed in Northern Ireland.

'One person infecting six'

Dr O'Hagan said: "We definitely have to look over our shoulders and be a little bit concerned about this.

"There's no doubt the numbers are going up and the infection rate at the beginning is going up.

"In the first wave, one person infected approximately two people, in the second wave one person infected three to four.

Robin Swann says there need to be a "sustained effort" to prevent the spread of coronavirus

"With this variant, one person is infecting six people on average, so that's why it's much more easily spread.

"We do have to think about it because it's spreading between people who have either not been vaccinated or not had both their vaccines."

She said the rise was probably due to a combination of lockdown easing and the spread of the Delta variant.

Third wave 'not inevitable'

Health Minister Robin Swann has said a third wave of coronavirus is not inevitable.

Data modelling suggests a surge of the number of cases and hospitalisations in late summer or early autumn if the Delta variant becomes dominant.

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Mr Swann said people getting fully vaccinated against Covid-19 would prepare Northern Ireland for such a surge.

"It essential that people keep coming forward for their first and second vaccine doses," he said.

Mike Nesbitt says any departure from the executive's position on Covid-19 would send a "terrible message"

"The emerging evidence indicates that getting fully vaccinated with both doses is very important in terms of protection from the Delta variant."

A paper from the Department of Health said up to a quarter of new cases in Northern Ireland may be the Delta variant, which originated in India.

The report says the variant is more transmissible and is associated with a higher risk of hospital admission.

Ulster Unionist Party MLA Mike Nesbitt said "everybody is determined to avoid" another lockdown later in the year.

It would be a "great shame", he said, if new DUP leader Edwin Poots and Paul Givan, his nomination for first minister, moved away from the Stormont executive's position on Covid-19 restrictions.

'It would send a terrible message'

Both have said they are against further restrictions and Mr Givan has said he would like to review those currently in place.

Colm Gildernew says there is "dire need" to reform Northern Ireland's healthcare system

"So far, the executive has gone forward as one and I think it would be a great shame if they broke that unanimity," said Mr Nesbitt.

"I think it would be very bad for how we're dealing with the coronavirus and I think it would send a terrible message to the public."

Also on Sunday Politics, Sinn Féin MLA Colm Gildernew, who chairs Stormont's Health Committee, said there was "dire need" for transformation of Northern Ireland's healthcare system.

He said: "The health committee a number of weeks ago wrote to the first minister and deputy first minister calling for an urgent executive meeting focused solely on health and how we can bring an urgency and approach the same way as Covid-19."