The numbers are headed in the wrong direction.

With 769 new Covid-19 cases and two further deaths from the virus in the past 24 hours, coronavirus figures are at their highest in three weeks.

While the incidence of the disease has plateaued in Cork, with 18 cases, there were 284 new cases in Dublin, 67 in Donegal, 47 in Offaly, 45 in Meath, and 44 in Kildare. Health experts believe the surge is connected to workplace outbreaks and gatherings on St Patrick’s Day and during the recent sunny spells.

Of the latest cases, 381 are men and 378 are women and 75% are under 45 years of age. The median age is 32 years old. There has also been a 3% jump in hospitalisations in the past week – 366 people are currently battling Covid-19 in hospital.

Lockdown ‘much less effective’ in some regions

According to Trinity Professor Tomás Ryan, Level 5 restrictions are working in many parts of the country, including Cork. However, speaking to Newstalk, Professor Ryan said there is work to be done in finding out why the lockdown isn’t working in other counties.

“We are getting cases down but for some reason, it is much less effective in some regions of Ireland,” Professor Ryan said.

“We need to be taking a very close look at what is going on in the regions where we are not seeing a sufficient drop in case numbers.

“How many of these counties have meat plants in them? How many of them have other high-risk work areas? How many have a large proportion of people who are going into work?”

Professor Ryan also said we need to keep “a very, very close eye on schools.”

“Transmission does occur in schools; schools do contribute to community transmission so schools are only going to be as safe as the communities they are in – particularly with the new B117 British variant,” he said.

Following reports that 34,000 people arrived in Ireland since February 22nd, mandatory hotel quarantine is expected to be in place by Tuesday of this week.