Coronavirus Ireland: no further deaths and 208 new cases

There have been no further deaths and 208 new cases associated with the coronavirus in Ireland.

There have been a total of 1,784 coronavirus related deaths in Ireland and 31,192 confirmed cases.

Of the cases notified today, 98 are men and 110 are women.

62% are under 45 years of age and 33% are confirmed to be associated with outbreaks or are close contacts of a confirmed case, with 18 cases identified as community transmission.

108 cases are in Dublin, 18 in Louth, 12 in Donegal, 10 in Meath, 9 in Kildare, 8 in Waterford, 7 in Cork, 6 in Limerick, 6 in Wexford and the remaining 24 cases are located in Carlow, Cavan, Clare, Galway, Kilkenny, Laois, Longford, Mayo, Roscommon, Tipperary, Westmeath and Wicklow.

Dr. Ronan Glynn, Acting Chief Medical Officer at the Department of Health, confirmed that the self-isolation period for confirmed cases has been reduced, given that the last five days are without a fever.

“Nphet has decided to reduce the period of isolation from 14 to 10 days for confirmed cases from the onset of symptoms, based on advice received from the Expert Advisory Group following a review of the evidence.

“In addition, it has been agreed that nasal swabs are an acceptable alternative to nasopharyngeal swab for use in children in the community. This will hopefully make testing a simpler process for children going forward," he said.

“Covid-19 is an evolving pandemic and NPHET is committed to adapting advice and guidelines based on emerging evidence," he added.