The number of COVID-19 cases in Ireland to date is in fact 8,089 due to the results of 'old' tests that are now being returned to Ireland from Germany, Dr Tony Holohan has confirmed.
Recent weeks have seen the Department of Health issue a nightly update on the number of new cases reported here - a number that as of tonight comes to a total of 7,054.
However, some tests conducted here have been sent to German labs for analysis due to a backlog in the labs here.
Those results from German labs are now being reported back to Irish health authorities - and those results, on top of the most up-to-date figures of COVID-19 cases reported to date, have added more than 1,000 additional cases to the total numbers.
CMO confirms total number of confirmed cases is actually 8,089. That’s the total number. https://t.co/9DDXv7MvQ3
— Shane Beatty (@ShaneBeattyNews) April 10, 2020
Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan this evening confirmed that the total here is in fact 8,089 - and insisted officials have had no intention of being misleading or ambiguous with the figures reported to date.
He said the additional numbers being reported from Germany have been reported separately and not included in the evening round-up of new cases as in many cases those tests date back to the middle of March.
He suggested it's really important people do not think the numbers coming through from Germany represent a big increase from day to day.
Dr Holohan explained: "These are old cases that were done weeks ago, being reported together - not new cases occurring in the population today.
"The number of new cases occurring in the population today and tomorrow... that's the important thing for us to track.
"It's genuinely important to try and separate those two things... and not confuse cases that occurred two and three weeks ago with cases that are occurring now."
He acknowledged the overall number is important, but "much less important" than the daily figures of ICU admissions, deaths and daily infections in informing public health policy.
