Nineteen of the 53 confirmed cases of Coronavirus today are in Laois, according to figures from the Department of Health.
It is understood a number of these are in a Direct Provision centre – and it brings the new cases in the county to 37 in the last 12 days, behind only Dublin in terms of overall new cases in that time period.
The 53 cases recorded today are the highest number of cases recorded on a Sunday since May 31.
There have been no new deaths today.
Of the new cases in Ireland today, 80% are under 45 years of age while 45 are associated with outbreaks or close contacts of a confirmed case. Four cases have been identified as community transmission
Dr Ronan Glynn, Acting Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health, said; “The source of transmission for over 90% of cases reported today has been identified.
“This is a positive development in light of the number of cases reported over the past few days.
“However, our five day average for cases reported is now 47. We all need to continue to adopt a prevention mindset and continue making good choices to protect ourselves and others while trying to live safely with COVID-19.
“People are still susceptible, this virus has not changed. We know how to break the chains of transmission.
“Let’s stay the course by physically distancing, washing hands regularly, wearing a face covering where appropriate, avoiding crowds and doing all we can to protect each other.”
