There are now nine cases of coronavirus in the island of Ireland, it has been confirmed.
The figure jumped by six on Wednesday when two people in Northern Ireland and four in the west of Ireland were confirmed to have the virus.
Two males and two females believed to be from Co Clare travelled from Northern Italy where the bug is rampant in the last two weeks.
A primary school in the area has been forced to close for two weeks as a result of the outbreak.
A further two cases were confirmed by the Department of Health in Northern Ireland on Wednesday with one having travelled back from Northern Italy and the other coming into contact with someone in the UK who had the disease.
The first confirmation of an infected patient in Northern Ireland was last Thursday. It involved a Belfast mother who had returned from a trip to northern Italy after flying into Dublin and making their way home.
The first case in the Republic was confirmed on Sunday night when a student in Dublin, who had travelled from Northern Italy, caught the virus.
A second case was confirmed on Monday, the woman who had recently travelled from northern Italy is suffering from the virus in the east of Ireland.
As fears of a mass outbreak continue to sweep the globe, the Government have advised against all unnecessary travel to the four Italian regions at the epicentre of the alert there.
Dr Tony Holohan, who was earlier speaking at a Department of Health briefing, added: “There is a moderate to high risk of cluster-type transmission events elsewhere in Europe other than in Italy and the risk of widespread community transmission within Europe as being of moderate to high risk.
“It means we stay vigilant and we emphasise the symptoms to people travelling into the country.”
Dr Holohan, the Department of Health’s Chief Medical Officer, added some isolated cases from abroad are to be expected here but the virus may not necessarily be transmitted in the community as it might be in Europe.
