Updated: 10 Feb 2021, 9:18 IRISH hospitals are seeing a "ray of light" as Covid-19 hospitalisations fall, but we still have a "long way to go" before the end of the third wave. Professor Paddy Mallon of St Vincent's Hospital Dublin warned that despite positive signs, there are still a lot of people very sick with the virus in hospital. 3 3 3 Prof Paddy Mallon warned there are still an 'awful lot' of patients sick with the virus According to the HSE's daily operations update - accurate until 8pm last night - there were 1,012 patients in acute Irish hospital sites with Covid-19. Yesterday morning, that figure was 1,100 - meaning the number of patients has dropped by 88. Some 178 patients are receiving treatment in ICU.