The Covid-19 guidelines are likely to change again today.

Cabinet will meet this afternoon to discuss the latest recommendations from the emergency meeting of the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET).

Reports suggest that new advice could clamp down on gatherings in people’s homes and that older and vulnerable people could be asked to spend more time indoors to avoid coming into contact with the virus.

A further 56 cases of coronavirus were confirmed yesterday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in Ireland to 27,313.

While there were no further deaths from the disease, there is growing concern that the rise in cases could impact the reopening of schools across the country in two weeks time.

With 79% of the new cases in Ireland aged under 45 years of age, the regional director of the World Health Organisation Takeshi Kasai, has said that the actions of younger people are putting the most vulnerable at risk.

“People in their 20s, 30s and 40s are increasingly driving the spread. Many are unaware they are infected,” he told an online briefing.

“This increases the risk of spillovers to the more vulnerable,” he said.