29th February, 2020
Republic of Ireland has confirmed its first case of coronavirus, of a man in the eastern part of the island.
Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan associated the man’s infection with travel from an affected area in northern Italy.
He said the Health Protection Surveillance Centre was alerted to the case on Saturday and the patient is receiving appropriate medical care.
‘This is not unexpected. We have been preparing for this eventuality for many weeks now. Public health protocols have been in place since January and are operating effectively.
‘The health service is well used to managing infectious diseases and has robust response measures in place.’
Northern Ireland’s first case of the deadly virus was diagnosed on Thursday and confirmed by laboratory tests on Saturday.