Dr Ronan Glynn has issued a Bank Holiday warning as he noted a worrying new trend.
The Acting Chief Medical Officer said that most people reporting to GPs were not self-isolating after the onset of Covid-19 symptoms.
This evening the Department of Health revealed that 38 new cases of the disease were confirmed here.
It brings the total number of infections in Ireland to 26,065 since the outbreak began.
Thankfully, no further deaths were reported over the last 24 hours.
However Dr Glynn revealed a new survey of GP’s has indicated that the vast majority of patients who had contacted them with Covid-like symptoms in the past week had not been self-isolating since the onset of their symptoms.
And this Bank Holiday weekend he is calling on the Irish public to adhere to the six key guidelines to avoid transmission of the virus.
He said: “The importance of isolating as soon as you have any flu like symptoms cannot be overstated.
"Without this individual action we simply will not break the chains of transmission and we will put many people at risk of infection.
“It is important that people know that there is no charge for GP or testing services relating to COVID-19. Please do not hesitate to contact your GP if you have any concerns.
“This weekend, the six key things people need to do are limit the size of your network & time you spend with them, keep your distance, meet up outside if possible, wash your hands, wear a face covering and download the COVID Tracker App.”
Ireland's top doctor also confirmed that many of today's new cases couldn't be linked to existing clusters.
He added: “Mass testing has now taken place in relation to a number of known outbreaks.
“We may be beginning to see more cases which we cannot link to outbreaks or close contacts. The National Public Health Emergency Team will continue to monitor this situation closely over the coming days.”
Over the past two days a total of 123 cases have been reported. Of these:
- 84 cases are linked to known outbreaks or are close contacts of other confirmed cases.
- At least 19 cases have been identified as community transmission while 20 cases remain under investigation
- 44 cases are located in Kildare, 33 in Dublin, 11 in Clare, 10 in Laois, 8 in Limerick and the remaining 17 are located across 10 counties.
