The Department of Health has confirmed 54 new coronavirus cases in Ireland
There are 223 cases of Covid-19 in the Republic of Ireland now.
Of the 54 new cases:
41 are in the East
11 are in the South
2 are in the North-West
Of the 54 new cases, 30 are male and 24 are female.
Richard Chambers - From Virgin Media news provides a breakdown of the last week's figures:
March 9th: 24 cases (+3)
March 10th: 34 cases (+10)
March 11th: 43 cases (+9)
March 12th: 70 cases (+27)
March 13th: 90 cases (+20)
March 14th: 129 cases (+39)
March 15th: 169 cases (+40)
March 16th: 223 cases (+54)Total cases in the Republic of Ireland over the past week.
— Richard Chambers (@newschambers) March 16, 2020
The Department of foreign affairs are advising against all travel:
TRAVEL ADVICE: @dfatirl now advising against all non-essential travel overseas from #Ireland until 29th March. Reflects advice of National Public Health Team. Passengers arriving in IRE to be asked to restrict movements for 14 days. Hauliers, Aircrews & Marine Workers are exempt.
— Simon Coveney (@simoncoveney) March 16, 2020
The Taoiseach says cases of coronavirus will increase by 30 per cent a day, every day, for the next few weeks
This could mean over 10,000 Covid 19 cases diagnosed here by the end of this month.
Meanwhile, Tánaiste Simon Coveney added that all non-essential travel from Ireland should be avoided until at least March 29th. That advice also now applies to travel to the UK which had been previously exempted.
He says Ryanair and Aer Lingus are continuing flights to get passengers back from Spain with those flights expected to last until the weekend.
Trinity College Dublin has instructed all students to leave their rooms on campus.
They say it is because large, highly concentrated numbers of students living on campus will increase the chance of rapid transmission of the coronavirus.
The college says they are aware of at least eight cases in Trinity who have tested positive for the virus.
All students living in Ireland must return home from 8pm tomorrow.
Students with a home overseas should aim to have left their Trinity accommodation by 5pm on Wednesday
What is COVID-19 and what we know about the virus:
Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses, some of which cause illnesses which range from the common cold to much more severe respiratory illnesses, such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). COVID-19 is a new disease caused by a strain of coronavirus not seen in humans before December 2019.
As such, there is a lack of immunity in the population which means that we are all susceptible to infection and, with no vaccine currently available, COVID-19 has the potential to spread widely.
People can catch COVID-19 from others who have the virus, through inhaling small droplets from people who cough or sneeze, or through touching contaminated surfaces and then touching their face.
Its symptoms, which can take up to 14 days to show, may include a cough, shortness of breath, breathing difficulties and fever (high temperature). Taken from the Government of Ireland’s National Action Plan in response to COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
