The Department of Health has said 65 suspected cases of coronavirus have been tested in Ireland.

However these have all come back negative and there are no confirmed cases here.

It comes the World Health Organisation (WHO) confirmed the official name of coronavirus disease to be 'Covid-19'.

The chief medical officer of the Department of Health, Dr Tony Holohan, said: "We remain prepared for a confirmed case of Covid-19.

"The Irish health system is currently operating a containment strategy in line with global practice, and all our efforts are focused on identifying suspected cases as they arise and initiating measures to prevent onward transmission of the virus.

"The National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) continues to coordinate response efforts between the health service and other Government departments and agencies, to ensure a comprehensive response in the event of a confirmed case."

He added: "Anyone returning from China in the last 14 days, and experiencing symptoms associated with Covid-19, is instructed to self-isolate and contact the health service via phone or e-mail."

Source: European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control

Chief executive of the Health Service Executive (HSE), Paul Reid, said: "All hospitals have plans in place to deal with any increase in demand due to a viral threat, including Covid-19.

"A lot of preparation work has been done and a range of options are being looked at to deal with all scenarios."

While more than 4,800 personal protective equipment packs have been distributed to GP out of hours services, public health departments and GP practices.

A further 1,200 packs are due to go out to GP practices on Wednesday.

The National Ambulance Service also has detailed plans in place and is working closely with other agencies.

The total number of deaths from COVID-19 has exceeded 1,100.

There were 2,015 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 confirmed on Tuesday - the lowest number of new infections since January 30th.

Another 39 people, including a quarantine officer, have tested positive for the virus on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship off the coast of Japan.

Across Europe there are 14 cases in Germany, 11 cases in France, eight in the United Kingdom, three in Italy, two cases in Spain and one case each in Belgium, Finland and Sweden.