THE NUMBER of Covid-19 cases being reported in Ireland is “beginning to flatten”.
That’s according to Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan who offered some words of encouragement to the public on a weekend in which the Taoiseach confirmed lockdown restrictions were likely to stay in place until the Summer.
Dr Holohan confirmed 1,910 cases of coronavirus had been reported in the past 24 hours, with a further 77 people losing their lives to the deadly virus.
76 of these deaths occurred in January with one recorded in December.
Despite the gloomy statistics, Ireland’s CMO was eager to commend the efforts of everyone who has stuck to the Covid-19 restrictions in place.
Dr Holohan said: “Through the solidarity shown by families and communities across the country in recent weeks, we are beginning to flatten the curve of COVID-19 infection.
"Each individual effort to follow the public health advice is making an impact, but we can only continue this positive trend and drive down incidence in the community by continuing to stay at home and avoid meeting or mixing with others in our social circle, including for any close family gatherings, such as birthdays or funerals, as these can be ‘super-spreader’ events.
The CMO also reiterated his plea for the public to act as if they are infectious and minimise close contacts as a result
He said: “We know it is possible to have COVID-19 without displaying symptoms, so we all need to behave as though we are infectious and minimise our close contacts with others.
"If you suspect that you might be ill, isolate away from others in your household, let your close contacts know and come forward for testing as soon as possible.”
