The INMO are calling for a return of the mask mandate, as hospital overcrowding reaches record highs.
Figures from the union show 931 people are currently being treated on trolleys nationwide, with 97 patients in University Hospital Limerick going without a bed.
It comes as the HSE asks people to avoid attending Emergency Departments unless necessary.
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General Secretary of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation Phil Ní Sheaghdha says a mask mandate would significantly reduce demand:
