HEALTH OFFICIALS HAVE confirmed that a further 50 new cases of Covid-19 have been reported in Ireland. 

There have been no further deaths associated with the disease. 

The National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) said there are now 26,303 confirmed cases of the disease and 1,763 Covid-19 related deaths.

Of the cases notified today:

• 31 are men and 19 are women
• 81% are under 45 years of age
• 42 are associated with outbreaks or are close contacts of a confirmed case
• Four cases have been identified as community transmission
• 11 cases are located in Wexford, 10 in Kildare, six in Dublin and five in Donegal.
• 18 cases are spread across nine other counties (Carlow, Cork, Limerick, Louth, Meath, Offaly, Sligo, Tipperary and Wicklow)

The acting Chief Medical Officer, Dr Ronan Glynn, said in a statement: “I know the decision yesterday not to move to Phase 4 will have been disappointing for many.

“However, NPHET’s priority must be to control the spread of this virus in our communities and to protect the progress that we have achieved to date.”

Glynn said health officials have seen a “significant increase” in the spread of the disease across multiple counties in recent days. 

“We are monitoring this very closely,” he said. 

“Our focus over the coming weeks will be on continuing every effort to slow the spread of the virus so that our schools can reopen, our healthcare services resume, and our nursing homes are protected.”

Yesterday, the government announced its decision to not reopen pubs that don’t serve food on 10 August, delaying their reopening for a second time.

Hotel bars, nightclubs and casinos will also remain closed; this will be reviewed again on 31 August.

In a new measure, restaurants and pubs that are open now will need to ensure that all customers are off the premises by 11pm, but can still produce takeaways after this time.

Face coverings will be made mandatory in shops and shopping centres from next Monday, 10 August.