The South African variant of Covid-19 has been confirmed in Ireland, on the same day the country recorded its highest ever number of new cases.
Dr Tony Holohan said that three cases of the strain had been identified, as the number of new infections sky-rocketed to 8,248.
Tragically, 20 more people lost their lives, while the number of patients in intensive care units soared to 109.
And as of 2pm on Friday, there were 1,180 people being treated for the deadly virus in hospitals across the country.
Issuing a stern warning, particularly to those who are travelling into the country, the Chief Medical Officer said: "Three cases of a new variant of Covid-19 recently identified in South Africa have been confirmed in Ireland today by whole genome sequencing.
"All of the cases identified are directly associated with recent travel from South Africa.
“Anyone who has travelled from South Africa recently is advised to self-isolate for 14 days and identify themselves through a GP for testing as soon as possible.
“We are particularly advising healthcare workers travelling from South Africa, that it is essential that they self-isolate for 14 days before entering/re-entering the workplace.
“While this variant has not yet been identified in many European countries we believe the identification here reflects the extent of genome sequencing surveillance in Ireland.”
Dr Cillian De Gascun, Medical Virologist and Director of the National Virus Reference Laboratory, added; “The ECDC Assessment states that preliminary analyses indicate that the South African variant is associated with a heightened viral load and may have increased transmissibility.
"It also states that there is no evidence to date that this variant is associated with higher severity of infection.
“There is currently not enough information available to determine whether this variant poses a possible risk related to vaccine match and effectiveness.
"The antigenic characterisation of this new variant is ongoing, and results are expected in the coming weeks.”
