James Cox
Two further Covid-19 related deaths and 511 additional cases have been confirmed in the Republic of Ireland today.
There has now been a total of 4,715 Covid-19 related deaths in Ireland.
There is now a total of 237,695 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Ireland.
As of March 31st 2021, 865,460 doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been administered in Ireland:
- 619,003 people have received their first dose.
- 246,457 people have received their second doses.
Meanwhile, Covid-19 variants with no known link to international travel have been identified in Ireland, described by public health officials as being “of concern”.
The National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) mentioned the matter in a meeting last month and was noted in the minutes, according to The Irish Times.
“Complex contact tracing” is ongoing to attempt to halt the spread of variants, with Dr Cillian de Gascun, director of the National Virus Reference Laboratory highlighting the need to “ensure that there aren’t ongoing networks of transmission of these variants in the community that we don’t know about”.
On Friday, Dr de Gascun said an undetected case in a care facility, workplace or school was the “greatest concern” as it could lead to a super-spreader event.
“The problem is if we don’t contain it, it is only a matter of time before it gets into a super-spreading event,” he added.
