Health minister Robin Swann has expressed concern at the spike in Covid-19 cases which on Thursday rose above 1,000 for the first time since January.
His concern will be widely shared and if anything will have been heightened by the latest figures recorded yesterday showing 1,380 positive tests.
It will be recalled that in mid-June, just a month ago, the Department of Health said its modelling suggested there would be 1,000-1,200 cases a day at the end of August.
That was based on the assumption that the Delta variant would be the dominant strain in the north, 85 per cent of the adult population would be double vaccinated and the public continued to observe social distancing and hygiene guidance.
It was predicted that number of cases would translate to between 200 to 300 hospital inpatients with Covid-19 by mid-September.
It has to be said that while the number of positive cases has increased sharply in recent days, we are not seeing a similarly huge rise in hospital admissions, certainly not of the order witnessed in January.
Even so, the number of people being admitted for treatment is on the rise - 92 were in hospital yesterday, including two in intensive care.
That is against a backdrop of continuing pressures in our health service with hospitals operating beyond their capacity.
Last week the South Eastern Trust described the pressures as similar to those expected in mid-winter, with patients having to wait 'a very long time' for a bed.
The worrying surge in Covid cases is being experienced mainly among those under 40, however it is this cohort that is still lagging behind in vaccination uptake.
In the 18-29 age group, just 55 per cent have received their first dose while the figure for the 30-39 group is 68 per cent.
The health authorities are doing their best to encourage younger people to get the jab, with mobile and walk-in centres that can be accessed without an appointment.
The GAA is also playing its part, with a walk-in clinic at the Armagh-Monaghan match at Pairc Esler, Newry, today.
Vaccinations give us the advantage that we didn't have in January but we need to improve the uptake in younger people.
With cases surging, now is not the time to relax our guard on mask wearing and the social distancing measures that can help prevent the spread of this virus.
