Covid numbers have risen significantly in recent weeks but hospital numbers are not climbing with the same ferocity as previous waves which means thousands of cases are now isolating at home.
Prime Time followed the stories of three people, all of whom contracted Covid-19 in recent weeks, to find out what it is like to experience the virus now, with the Delta variant so dominant in Ireland.
Jack Kelly spoke briefly in a pub with someone who later tested positive for Covid
Jack Kelly is a 23-year-old student from Dublin. He was out socialising with a group of friends in a local pub when he spoke briefly with someone who later tested positive for Covid.
"It was outside and people did keep to their groups but there were a lot of groups and then you see someone you know and you might talk to them. It's not just restricted to indoor spreading, that’s how it transpired."
At the time Jack was not vaccinated as his age group was not yet eligible to register for the jab.
"The next day or two we heard that someone had tested positive. I was briefly talking to the person. I got myself tested and it came back positive unfortunately."
A text message from the HSE confirmed a positive result. Although it did not specify the variant, Delta has been the dominant strain in Ireland since July.
Jack isolated for the next 11 days at home, where he dealt with a number of symptoms.
"Initially it was a lot of fatigue. Tiredness. Aches and pains through my body. I couldn’t move. A little bit of shortness of breath. Walking around I was getting very tired, very quickly."
In addition, he suffered with headaches and after several days experienced a loss of taste and smell.
To keep himself busy during his isolation period Jack used a set of dumbbells in his bedroom to carry out multiple workouts, using a chair for support. He wasn’t able to train for the first few days due to fatigue, but when he felt well enough, regular upper and lower body exercise became the routine. It helped with mental health.
"You just feel a lot better. You’re cooped up in the room, so at least you feel like you’re doing something. It kept me regimented."
But towards the latter end of his isolation period, boredom set in.
"With about four or five days left I was pretty much symptom free. I was walking around the room back and forth and just watching tons of YouTube videos. I nearly went a bit mad at the end but thankfully made it through."
Having completed his isolation period Jack is now back training in the gym. The majority of his symptoms have disappeared, however his sense of smell has not returned completely. He describes his cologne as smelling 'gone off.'
Overall, he feels his experience was mild compared to others, having weathered the worst effects of the virus within a number of days.
You sometimes think after two vaccines you're invincible, says Liz Hoefsmit
Liz Hoefsmit was not as lucky. Despite having received two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, she contracted Covid five weeks after her second jab.
Liz lives in London but is originally from Dublin and had returned home for a work-related trip in late June.
She received a negative PCR test two days before travelling to Ireland. But in the intervening period she had been involved in a work meeting with a person who later tested positive for covid.
Liz was alerted by this person shortly after she arrived in Ireland. A text message from the NHS followed to say she had been a close contact of a positive case.
A drive to the HSE facility at Croke Park for a test followed and Liz was subsequently informed she was positive and needed to isolate. It came as a shock.
"You sometimes think after two vaccines you’re invincible, but the reality is you can get it. I was quite bad for the first eight days. People ask me was it like a bad flu, but I was wiped out by it ."
Liz suspects she contracted the Delta variant given its prevalence in London. She also had several bouts of sneezing, which is associated more with Delta than other variants.
"The worst symptoms were a fever like I’ve never had and a racing heart. My heart rate was around 115-120 (beats per minute). My normal resting heart rate is around 54."
She returned to London after spending fourteen days isolating at her family home in Beaumont. In the weeks following her return to the UK Liz experienced heart palpitations and irregular chest pains, but these have since dissipated.
On Monday the HSE's national lead for testing and tracing said reports that one-fifth of Covid cases recorded here now are in fully vaccinated people is in line with what is being seen in other countries.
In recent days, between 18-21% of cases being reported are in fully vaccinated people, she said.
Watching his child suffer was the worst element of isolating, says Raymond Fernandez
Within that number is Raymond Fernandez. A nurse from the Philippines, but now based in Dublin, he contracted Covid despite having two doses of the Pfizer jab. His symptoms were mild however and he believes the vaccine still gave him a high level of protection.
His four-year-old son, Zach, had tested positive in the days before Raymond. He suffers with asthma and experienced an asthma attack as well as coughing fits. In addition, Raymond's son had to contend with a fever for several days and lost his appetite.
Raymond says watching his child suffer was the worst element of isolating in his apartment.
"We were worried because to be honest I never thought children could be severely affected. That was the worst two weeks of our lives. We can only laugh about it now because we survived it."
Raymond's son has since made a full recovery.
