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Health chiefs are holding a press conference tonight where 772 new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed.
Sadly, six other people died from the deadly virus.
Some of the nation’s top doctors are also expected to be questioned as to whether Level 5 restrictions are helping to reduce the number of cases.
The information session will begin at 5:45 pm and will be attended by Dr. Tony Holohan, Medical Director of the Department of Health, Dr. Desmond Hickey, Deputy Medical Director of the Department of Health, Dr. Colm Henry, Clinical Director from HSE and Professor Philip Nolan, Chairman of the NPHET Irish Epidemiological Modeling Advisory Group.
Today it has been discovered that a new strain of the virus could account for up to 70% of new cases in Ireland.
The strain was first identified in Spain in June before spreading across Europe and now accounts for a large proportion of infections in several countries, the researchers say, highlighting the role of travel in the pandemic and the need to trace mutations.
The variant, which has not been found to be intrinsically more dangerous, was first identified among agricultural workers in the eastern Spanish regions of Aragon and Catalonia.
In the last two months, it has accounted for about 90% of new infections in Spain, according to research work, prepared by seven researchers with the support of Swiss and Spanish public scientific institutions.
It was published on a prepress server and has not yet been peer reviewed for publication in a scientific journal.
The strain has crossed European borders and accounted for 40-70% of new infections in Switzerland, Ireland and the United Kingdom in September, they found.
The scientists said that the strain’s characteristic mutation gave it no apparent advantage and that its success may be because the people who spotted it first are particularly mobile and sociable.
But in some places outside of Spain, the variant trip developed a dynamic of its own, indicating that it may have a transmission advantage.
“Its frequency in the UK has continued to rise even after non-quarantine travel was suspended and the main summer travel period ended. Therefore, this variant could be transmitted faster than competing variants,” wrote the researchers.
The World Health Organization said in July that there was no evidence that mutations in the virus had caused more serious illness.
Follow the latest updates from tonight’s briefing on our live blog below.
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