The impact of Covid-19 on the health system in the west and north west of the county has resulted in only a small amount of elective surgeries going ahead in the Saolta Hospital Group, which runs seven HSE hospitals including Sligo and Letterkenny University hospitals.
The relatively low number of surgeries being carried out is as a result of the increasing number of Covid 19 cases that have risen sharply in recent days.
The seven-day average of Covid-19 cases has increased by 77% in the past three weeks.
Only twice in the whole pandemic were Covid cases higher than they were over the past week.
There have been 15,740 in the most recent week, and only two weeks around the New Year were higher.
NPHET says the 19 to 24 age-group has the highest incidence rate.
Chief executive of the Salota Hospital Group Tony Canavan says the majority of surgeries are being cancelled, due to the Covid surge.
