“You are the frontline defence against this disease.”

That was the message from Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan last night as he repeated his plea to the public to limit all social contacts immediately.

A further 811 cases of coronavirus were reported in the past 24 hours, 141 of which were in Cork. Three more people have died from the disease.

There are 190 cases in Dublin, 62 in Wexford, 51 in Kerry and 50 in Clare. The remaining 317 cases are spread across all remaining counties

As Northern Ireland begins four weeks of full lockdown, with pubs closing for a month and schools shut for a fortnight in an attempt to stem the latest outbreak of 6,286 cases in a week, Dr Holohan appealed to the public to double down on Level 3 efforts.

“We have widespread community transmission in the country,” he said.

“The spread of COVID-19 is a whole population issue, which is why we’re appealing to every single individual, every single family, household, organisation, workplace, to act on public health advice. You are the frontline defence against this disease.”

Of the #COVID19 cases notified today;
•415 are men / 396 are women
•70% are under 45 years of age
•The median age is 30 years old
•190 in Dublin, 141 in Cork, 62 in Wexford, 51 in Kerry, 50 in Clare and the remaining 317 cases are spread across all remaining counties.

— Department of Health (@roinnslainte) October 13, 2020

Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr. Ronan Glynn warned that soaring cases will inevitably lead to more Covid-19 deaths.

“If we see community transmission patterns continuing to grow, we’re going to see more vulnerable groups being infected and the result of that, unfortunately, will be further hospitalisations and deaths. Limiting your contacts, avoiding crowds and following basic public health measures will ultimately save lives.”