University Hospital Limerick has the most patients awaiting beds this Monday.

There are currently 517 admitted patients waiting for beds in Irish hospitals this morning, with University Hospital Limerick topping the table with 81 people on trolleys.

According to today’s figures from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO), there are 439 patients waiting in emergency departments, while 78 are in wards elsewhere in the country’s hospitals.

In Cork, there are 60 patients on trolleys in Cork University Hospital (CUH), and 35 in the Mercy University Hospital (MUH).

MUH is appealing to the public with less urgent concerns to seek treatment elsewhere "due to a marked increase in the attendances of acutely ill patients and a surge in Covid-19 presentations".

A hospital spokesperson said that it's "regrettable that patients are and will continue to experience delays".

The warning comes as latest figures reveal that 537 patients are in hospitals around the country with Covid-19 — a threefold increase from the 180 patients in hospital on May 31.

Of those currently hospitalised with the virus, 27 people are in intensive care units (ICU).

Meanwhile, the test positivity rate has nearly doubled in the last fortnight to stand at just under 30%, up from 16.4% on June 4.

The INMO has already called for a return to mandatory mask-wearing in crowded places and on public transport in light of the surge in virus cases.

INMO general secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said that additional measures are needed given the sharp rise in cases in hospitals.

“There are very real reasons why masks have been shown to slow down transmission and that is what we need now because our hospitals are overcrowded to a level that we normally don’t see in winter — and it’s June,” she said.

As UHL's overcrowding situation remains one of the worst in the country, it was found last week that access to emergency care there has become “a point of failure” due to limited services in nearby hospitals, nursing shortages, and an elderly population.

A sharply critical report published by health watchdog Hiqa (the Health Information and Quality Authority) found one patient waited 116 hours for a hospital bed, another for 85 hours, and a third for over 71 hours.

It found patients’ confidentiality was compromised as trolleys were so closely packed together their private information was easily overheard.

Read MoreDepression rates among young adults doubled during the pandemic

Sign up to to get the latest news direct to your inbox daily at 1pm

Commemorating 100 years since the War of Independence

Select your favourite newsletters and get the best of Irish Examiner delivered to your inbox

© Irish Examiner Ltd, Linn Dubh, Assumption Road, Blackpool, Cork. Registered in Ireland: 523712.