There have been 20 new cases of coronavirus confirmed in the Republic of Ireland.
The latest update from the Department of Health brings the total number of cases in the Republic to 90 - and pushes the amount of confirmed cases on the island to above 100.
Today's increase compares to 27 new cases yesterday, and represents the second largest daily increase to date.
20 new cases of #coronavirus in Republic. Details here: pic.twitter.com/ovIZ3Be1qj
— Shane Beatty (@ShaneBeattyNews) March 13, 2020
Of the new cases:
- Six are associated with travel
- 12 - including four healthcare workers - are associated with contacts of a confirmed cases
- Two are associated with community transmission, meaning officials have been unable to identify a link to another case
Contact tracing is now underway for all the confirmed cases.
Meanwhile, health officials are now advising people returning to Ireland from areas identified on the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade website for avoidance of non-essential travel - which include Italy and Spain - should restrict their movements for 14 days.
Dr Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer at Department of Health, said: “The National Public Health Emergency Team will continue to monitor the ongoing threat of this virus and will take actions where necessary.
“For people returning from areas affected by COVID-19, we strongly encourage the individual to restrict their movements."
There remains one confirmed death from the virus in Ireland.
Today's update means there have now been a total of seven 'community transmission' cases in the Republic.
Officials earlier confirmed that efforts are now underway to “significantly increase” the COVID-19 testing capacity in the country, with the threshold for testing being widened.
Earlier today, it was confirmed there had been nine new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Northern Ireland as of this afternoon.
The North’s Department of Health said it brought the total number of cases there to 29.
There are now 119 confirmed cases on the island of Ireland.
