HEALTH OFFICIALS HAVE confirmed a further 68 cases of coronavirus in Ireland, with no new deaths reported.

In a statement this evening, the Department of Health said that there have now been a total of 26,712 confirmed cases in this country, and 1,772 Covid-19 related deaths.

Of the cases notified today:

• 37 are men and 31 are women
• 82% are under the age of 45
• 41 are confirmed to be associated with outbreaks or are close contacts of a confirmed case
• Two cases have been identified as community transmission
• 19 cases are located in Kildare, 17 in Dublin, 15 in Offaly, 12 in Laois and 5 in Donegal.

These figures come a day after Ireland had its highest number of daily cases since May, with 112 of the total of 174 cases relating to clusters from four meat factories, or close contacts of confirmed cases.

People in the counties Kildare, Offaly and Laois are under stricter restrictions than the rest of the country for the next two weeks as a result of an increase in cases.

Dr Ronan Glynn, Acting Chief Medical Officer said: “We continue to see cases linked to the outbreaks in counties where additional public health measures have been introduced. This was expected and we will continue to monitor closely.

“From tomorrow face coverings will be mandatory in retail and other indoor settings like hairdressers, cinemas and museums.

“We know that most people are already wearing face coverings and we hope to see even greater uptake over the coming days.

Time and again people have shown their willingness to follow public health guidance in the interest of protecting each other from this disease.

“Wearing a face covering is just one more way in which people can demonstrate their solidarity with one another as we seek to suppress the spread of Covid-19.”