CORONAVIRUS HAS become a “whole population issue” again, according to Ireland’s chief medical officer, Dr Tony Holohan.
The warning came after a further 811 cases were reported in Ireland, along with a further three deaths.
Speaking directly to the public, Dr Holohan said all of the evidence now points to “widespread community transmission” of the virus.
He appealed to the people of Ireland to “act on public health advice” to help slow the rising rate of infection across the country.
"We have widespread community transmission in the country,” the Chief Medical Officer at the Department of Health said.
"The spread of COVID-19 is a whole population issue, which is why we’re appealing to every single individual, every single family, household, organisation, workplace, to act on public health advice.
"You are the frontline defence against this disease."
His warnings were echoed by his deputed, Dr Ronan Glynn.
"If we see community transmission patterns continuing to grow, we’re going to see more vulnerable groups being infected and the result of that, unfortunately will be further hospitalisations and deaths,” he said.
"Limiting your contacts, avoiding crowds and following basic public health measures will ultimately save lives."
Dr Tony HolohanAt the time of writing, there are 234 Covid-19 patients in hospitals across Ireland.
Of this number, 32 are in intensive care units.
There have been a further 22 hospitalisations in the past 24 hours.
Of the cases notified today 415 are men while 396 are women.
70% are under 45 years of age while the median age is 30 years old.
190 were in Dublin, 141 in Cork, 62 in Wexford, 51 in Kerry and 50 in Clare while the remaining 317 cases are spread across all remaining counties.
There is now a total of 44,159 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ireland.
There has been a total of 1,830 COVID-19 related deaths in Ireland.
Dr Holohan's warnings came just a few hours before Northern Ireland introduced of new restrictions that will see pubs and restaurants close for the new four weeks.
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