HEALTH OFFICIALS HAVE confirmed that no further people with Covid-19 have died in Ireland. 

A further 38 new cases have been reported, bringing the total number of cases in this country to 26,065.

There have been a total of 1,763 deaths related to coronavirus.

Out of today’s cases, 22 are men and 16 are women. The median age of the new cases is 30, with 82% under 45 years of age. 

Thirty-two of the newly reported cases are in Dublin or Kildare, with 26 linked to current outbreaks or to close contacts of confirmed cases. 

Last night, health officials expressed concern after 85 new cases were reported. 

Of the 123 cases reported in the last two days, at least 19 are from community transmission, with 20 cases under investigation. 

Over the last two days, 44 cases have been linked to Kildare, while 33 were confirmed in Dublin. 

Yesterday, Acting Chief Medical Officer Dr Ronan Glynn confirmed that a significant number of cases were linked to an outbreak at a meat factory in Naas, Kildare. Today, he said that “mass testing has now taken place in relation to a number of known outbreaks”.

He warned that Ireland “may be beginning to see more cases which we cannot link to outbreaks or close contacts”.

“The National Public Health Emergency Team will continue to monitor this situation closely over the coming days,” he said. 

Earlier today, HSE Chief Paul Reid asked people not to be scared but instead be diligent this weekend following the spike in cases. 

Isolation

The Department of Health also said that a survey of GPs have revealed that the vast majority of patients who had contacted them with coronavirus-like symptoms in the past week had not been self-isolating since their symptoms began. 

Glynn stressed the importance of self-isolation if people have any flu-like symptoms. 

“Without this individual action we simply will not break the chains of transmission and we will put many people at risk of infection,” he said. 

He re-iterated his warning that people should take all the necessary precautions this weekend.