THERE HAS been a positive update in Ireland's battle against coronavirus as it was revealed that fewer than 2,000 people nationwide are currently suffering with the virus.
While Ireland have had 24,391 confirmed cases of the virus, more than 87% of people have now fully recovered, with just 1,809 'active' cases present.
The figures were revealed at the Department of Health's daily press briefing yesterday evening, and relates to data up to midnight on Sunday, 17 May.
The number of new cases has continued on a downward trend for some time now, with under 100 new confirmed cases being reported daily for the past week-- the lowest figures since March.
The number of patients in ICU across the country has also dropped, with 49 people receiving treatment in Intensive Care Units as of Thursday, 21 May.
In further positive news, just a small percentage of the 1,809 active cases are believed to be potentially contagious-- it is believed that carriers of the virus can spread it only between the third and eighth day of infection, and the Health Department considers cases to be 'active' for a minimum of 14 days.
The news comes as Ireland prepares to enter phase 2 of the planned reopening of the country on 8 June, where travel restrictions will be extended to up to 20km of a person's home and up to 4 people can visit another household for short periods of time while maintaining social distancing.
Minister for Health Simon Harris welcomed the consistent dropping of figures in a short statement yesterday, where he said "Ireland is making progress in our national effort of Covid-19.
"We need to keep at it. But we can help each other.
"It's such a tough time for everyone so let's decide today to reach out to one person, show them a random act of kindness.
"It could mean to world to them."
