THE NATIONAL PUBLIC Health Emergency Team (NPHET) will meet today to discuss the restrictions placed on Kildare, Laois and Offaly, and if they should be lifted.

On Friday 7 August, the government announced the fresh restrictions for the three counties amidst a spike in Covid-19 cases linked to outbreaks in meat processing plants and Direct Provision centres.

Under these restrictions, residents in these counties have been asked not to travel outside their county, only undertake essential travel and pubs and restaurants were told to shut. 

When announced, the government said these measures would last until midnight on Sunday 23 August.

It is expected NPHET will discuss the latest developments in these counties regarding Covid-19 and convey its recommendations to the government on the next steps. 

Last night, a further 54 cases of Covid-19 were confirmed in Ireland bringing the total to 27,547. Already this month, there have been more new confirmed cases than in June and July combined. 

The situation in hospitals, however, has remained relatively stable.

At 8pm last night, there were 16 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in hospitals across Ireland.

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There were six Covid-19 patients receiving treatment in a critical care unit yesterday evening, while three people were on ventilators.

This article was updated to reflect amended figures provided by the HSE on the number of people in critical care.