No further deaths related to the coronavirus have been reported today, but 208 new cases have been confirmed in the State.
Over half of the new cases are in Dublin (108), while there are 18 in Louth, 12 in Donegal, ten in Meath, nine in Kildare, eight in Waterford, seven in Cork, six in Limerick and six in Wexford.
The remaining 24 cases are located in Galway, Carlow, Cavan, Clare, Kilkenny, Laois, Longford, Mayo, Roscommon, Tipperary, Westmeath and Wicklow.
62% are under 45 years of age and 33% are confirmed to be associated with outbreaks or are close contacts of a confirmed case.
In the Republic, there are 11 people in ICU with COVID-19 and there are 60 people in hospital with the disease.
Speaking today, Dr Ronan Glynn said: “NPHET has decided to reduce the period of isolation from 14 to 10 days for confirmed cases from the onset of symptoms, based on advice received from the Expert Advisory Group following a review of the evidence.
“In addition, it has been agreed that nasal swabs are an acceptable alternative to nasopharyngeal swab for use in children in the community.
“This will hopefully make testing a simpler process for children going forward.
“COVID-19 is an evolving pandemic and NPHET is committed to adapting advice and guidelines based on emerging evidence.”
