But the effects on the hospital system remain and it will take a few months before the numbers in hospitals go down.

There are currently over 700 people with confirmed Covid in hospitals.

That is affecting the ability of the service to bring down waiting lists.

There was a stark warning from the Health Minister Stephen Donnelly this week about what may be coming this Autumn and Winter.

He told a press conference that Ireland might see a perfect storm of a severe flu season, plus another Covid surge.

He warned that this could blow efforts to cut some waiting lists by 18% by the end of the year, off target.

There are real fears about a very bad winter period in Ireland and the Government is making plans to give a flu jab and also a Covid booster jab to people at risk, earlier this year.

The flu worry comes from what Australia has been experiencing – a terrible flu season coupled with Covid and people have been asked to work from home there.

The flu jab to be given in Ireland will be based on the influenza strains circulating in the Southern Hemisphere.

The Covid jab might be new adapted vaccines made to deal with the latest variants, if these are approved by the European Medicines Agency.

It looks like Covid will be with us in some shape for a long time to come.

As will long waiting lists.