Not great news for our neighbours in Limerick.

Chief Medical Officer Dr. Tony Holohan took to Twitter yesterday to express worry over a surge of Covid-19 cases in Limerick.

Holohan wrote: “Today we are reporting a significant increase in cases in Limerick with incidence increasing sharply to 411/100,000. There have been more than 800 confirmed cases of #COVID19 in Limerick in the past fortnight, the majority of which occurred as a result of indoor gatherings.

“It is extremely important that everyone in the Limerick region continues to adhere to the public health advice.

“Please avoid crowds, wear a mask where appropriate, wash your hands, maintain your social distance, socialiser outdoors and, most importantly, if you display any symptoms of COVID-19 or suspect you are a close contact of a confirmed case then attend a test centre for a free test.”

Of the 465 national cases announced yesterday, 103 were in Limerick.

Limerick TD Niall Collins confirmed that he has sought a meeting with Holohan, as well as Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly. He wrote on Twitter: “Covid19 case numbers in Limerick are very concerning. I have asked @DonnellyStephen and @CMOIreland to brief all Limerick TDs and Senators tomorrow on the situation. Asking everybody to please observe good practice and get the numbers down again.” This meeting will take place today.

Earlier this week, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said that local lockdowns could possibly be instated to deal with situations such as this one.

Currently, there are 30 Covid-19 patients in ICUs across Ireland, and 84 in hospital.