Ireland

Republic reports further 123 cases of Covid-19 in meat processing plants

Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan during a press conference at Department of Health in Dublin. Niall Carson/PA Wire
Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan during a press conference at Department of Health in Dublin. Niall Carson/PA Wire Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan during a press conference at Department of Health in Dublin. Niall Carson/PA Wire

The coronavirus death toll in the Repulbic of Ireland has risen to 1,659 after a further three deaths were announced by the National Public Health Emergency Team.

There have been 47 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the Republic, bringing the total since the outbreak began to 25,111. The total number of infections reflects the denotification of two confirmed cases.

A further 123 cases of Covid-19 have been reported in meat processing plants over the past week, public health officials said, bringing the total to 1,048.

The Republic's chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan told the daily Covid-19 briefing that he believes there remains a “high degree of compliance” with social distancing rules “for the majority of people”.

He said there have been some public examples of exceptions to that, but added: “In the main the public is staying with us and that’s going to be really important for us as we move through not just this phase but for the phases that are planned.”

In the north, a further eight people have died after contracting Covid-19, the Department of Health has confirmed.

Two of the deaths occured in the 24 hours before 10am yesterday while the other six happened previously.

There were eight new positive cases with 1,294 tests carried out in total over the 24-hour period.

The total death toll for the north now stands at 534.