Health officials have warned that Ireland is 'only at the beginning' of the coronavirus curve, as the number of COVID-19 related deaths in the Republic doubled in just a day.
It was confirmed yesterday evening that ten more people diagnosed with the virus had died, bringing the death toll to 19.
Meanwhile, the number of confirmed cases here rose by another 255 cases - bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 1,819.
The National Public Health Emergency Team will meet again this morning, with health officials saying they're very concerned about increases in ICU admissions, clusters of nursing home cases, and the spread of the virus among health workers.
There we go. Dr. Ronan Glynn, Deputy Chief Medical Officer at the Department of Health showing us that we really have only just begun. With 19 deaths and over 1,800 confirmed cases of #covid19, here’s where we are on the curve: pic.twitter.com/W081beQ5Mk
— Shane Beatty (@ShaneBeattyNews) March 26, 2020
As of midnight on Tuesday, just under a quarter of all cases involved healthcare workers.
Officials are continuing urge people to follow advice regarding social distancing, hand washing and coughing hygiene.
Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan warned: “We are only at the beginning of the curve.
"We need every citizen to heed the advice and measures put in place to protect all of us.”
He added that public health officials will 'not hesitate' to make any further recommendations to the public or Government if necessary.
Separately, the Dáil last night approved emergency legislation aimed at tackling the impact of the coronavirus.
It was passed without a vote after after almost 12 hours of debate in the Chamber.
The legislation - which allows for measures such as a major €3.7bn welfare package - goes to the Seanad for consideration today.
The Dáil debate was halted briefly at 8pm as TDs joined members of the public in applauding frontline healthcare workers tackling the coronavirus crisis.
Officials at the Department of Health were among the others who applauded the country's healthcare workers:
Department of health officials join in applauding our frontline heroes #Covid19 #CoronavirusIreland pic.twitter.com/eSPoRh319C
— NewstalkFM (@NewstalkFM) March 26, 2020
