Dr Tony Holohan says a new UK Covid variant was detected in Ireland as 1,025 new cases were confirmed

MORE 1,025 new cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed in Ireland, the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) said this afternoon.

In a statement, he said that two other people who were confirmed to have Covid-19 had died.

The death toll from Covid-19 in Ireland is 2,194, and the total number of confirmed cases is now 84,098.

In a statement on Christmas Day, Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan said: “I can confirm that we have detected the new UK variant of SARS-CoV-2 by whole genome sequencing at the National Reference Laboratory. Virus in UCD “.

“More tests in the coming days and weeks will establish to what extent it is present here. In the meantime, it is vitally important that we all stay home, avoid social contact, and avoid all forms of non-essential travel.

It is particularly important that those who have arrived from the UK strictly isolate themselves for a full 14 days after arrival. They should not interact with others, visit others, socialize, or go shopping. The HSE is making arrangements to test newcomers from the UK. Full details of tips and procedures are available at www.hse.ie.

Public health authorities and ministers have said that the new Covid-19 strain detected in the UK was likely to be present in Ireland.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said last week that the new variant was 70% more transferable as he announced strict lockdown measures for London and south-east England.

However, in a press conference earlier this week, the director of the National Virus Reference Laboratory, Dr. Cillian De Gascun, said that there is still no “hard evidence” that the new Covid-19 strain that circulating in the UK is more infectious than other strains.

De Gascun said the strain is “a cause for concern” but there is no evidence yet to say with certainty that it is more infectious.

“I don’t think we’ve seen the evidence for that interpretation at this point,” he said.

There are certainly a significant number of cases in various regions of the UK and it has become the dominant strain in the last four to five weeks, it is certainly cause for concern. There are some genetic markers that could explain why it would be more infectious and perhaps more efficient in transmission, but we have not seen strong evidence for this.

Earlier this week, Professor Philip Nolan told reporters at the NPHET briefing that the country is “clearly now in a third wave of this pandemic.”

As the cases increased dramatically, the government announced that the country would be placed under Level 5 restrictions, with some modifications, starting on Christmas Eve.

Yesterday, the gastropubs and restaurants closed their doors again.

Home visits will be limited to one other home after December 26, below the current limit for two other homes. Starting January 1, no home and garden visits will be allowed.

Inter-county travel will also be restricted as of December 27, although people who have already left their county can stay in another county until they return home.