Staff members and patients who have been in contact with a confirmed case of COVID 19 in University Hospital Waterford will be contacted by
health officials today.
The National Virus Reference Laboratory informed UHW last evening that a patient had tested positive.
Hospital General Manager Grace Rothwell said the patient had been an inpatient in Medical 7 Ward and a decision was taken on Monday to test him.
He was then transferred to an isolation room in the Pine Ward, in the new Dunmore Wing, specifically opened to facilitate the isolation and care of patients either suspected or confirmed COVID-19.
Grace Rothwell told staff members that they recognise that this is an anxious time for staff, patients and relatives.
Line Managers have contacted all staff identified as working in the relevant clinical areas and have shared specific advice.
Occupational Health will contact each individual staff member while Public Health members will contact all patients identified as contacts today.
Ten new cases of Covid-19 including the one in UHW have now been confirmed - bringing to 34 the number of cases in the Republic of Ireland.
The new cases involve five in the south of the country, three in the east and two in the west.
There has also been an increase in the number of people being tested, up to 1,784 from 297 a week ago.
It's expected there'll be several hundred cases in Ireland in the next few weeks.
But Head of the Department of International Health and Tropical Medicine at the RCSI, Sam McConkey, say's he's confident the outbreak can be curtailed:
The city in China, where the new coronavirus is thought to have originated, is allowing employees in key industries to return to work.
But people still won't be able to leave Wuhan.
Schools are going to stay shut.
The total number of global cases has surpassed 110,000, including more than 3,900 fatilities in over 100 countries.
At least 631 people have now died from coronavirus in Italy - an increase of 168 in a single day.
The whole country's on lockdown with a ban on public gatherings while police are at train stations to check commuters' paperwork.
