Coronavirus: Second case of COVID-19 confirmed in Ireland

A second case of Coronavirus has been confirmed in the Republic of Ireland

The case is a female whose infection is unrelated to the first case — a male school student from Dublin.

The patient is a woman in the east of the country who recently travelled back from Italy. She has reportedly had no contact with the first person affected.

“We’re confirming that Ireland has diagnosed one new case of Covid-19,” revealed Department of Health chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan in a briefing on Tuesday evening.

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Up to yesterday, March 2nd, some 397 people were tested for the Covid-19 in Ireland and out of those, comes the second positive case.

The Department of Health added it was notified just Tuesday evening of the new case and the process of tracing contacts and notifying those contacts has begun.

They added that this process is “at an early stage.”

The first confirmed case was on Saturday when a male teenager from a school in the east of the country was diagnosed, following a return from northern Italy.

Travel ban

Officials have now applied a travel ban to the four regions in Italy.

Previously, the Department of Foreign Affairs’ travel advice was confined to travellers from China, but it now encompasses other areas, including Japan, Hong Kong, Iran, as well as the four regions in Italy where restrictions have been imposed.

Anyone coming back from these areas and who feels unwell is being advised to contact their GP and may require testing

Related: Dublin school to close for two weeks after pupil confirmed to have COVID-19

COVID-19 is spread through close contact with an infected person’s body fluids (e.g. droplets from coughing or sneezing), or by touching surfaces that an infected person has coughed or sneezed on.

Advice on how to properly wash your hands and avoid infection from the @WHO. #coronavirus #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/Oa4t5Pm4EI

— HSE Ireland (@HSELive) March 2, 2020

Holohan said more isolated cases are expected to be imported into Ireland, but currently, there is “no evidence of local transmission here.”

“We don’t think it’s likely (there are more than two cases here),” he said.

He added that if more cases emerge here, the main concern is for vulnerable people such as the elderly and people with disabilities.

Main photograph: Pexels 

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