A case of the Omicron variant has been confirmed in Ireland.
Health officials confirmed the news at a briefing on Wednesday afternoon.
No exact location has been confirmed but Dr Cillian De Gascun, Director of the National Virus Reference Laboratory and member of NPHET, said it is a "current case".
Dr De Gascun said that genome sequencing was carried out on eight cases, with the Omicron variant detected in one of these.
He said: "It is a travel-associated case (from one of the countries affected).
"It was identified in the last week, so it is a current case."
Reacting to the news, Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan said: “The NPHET Epidemiological Surveillance Team has been meeting regularly over the course of the last week to monitor the situation relating to the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 and, today, we are confirming that one case has been identified in Ireland.
“The government has announced updated travel measures for all passengers travelling to Ireland from scheduled States. In the first instance, the current advice remains that all non-essential travel to or from these states should be avoided. If you have travelled from any of Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa or Zimbabwe to Ireland since 1 November you should isolate and present for PCR testing, regardless of symptom status.
"This can be booked for free on HSE.ie. If you are travelling to or from a scheduled State for an essential purpose, you should continue to monitor www.gov.ie/travel for any further updates.”
Dr Holohan added: “The key focus for all of us must be to continue to suppress the current wave of infection that is driven by the Delta variant of Covid-19. We know how to break the chains of transmission of this virus.
"The measures with which we are all so familiar have worked against previous variants of COVID-19, they can successfully supress transmission of the Delta variant and we are optimistic that they will work against the Omicron variant.”
The NPHET Epidemiological Surveillance Team will continue to monitor this situation and provide advice to the Chief Medical Officer on an ongoing basis.
It comes after Dr Holohan issued a fresh warning to parents on Tuesday - saying they should have their children avoid three specific situations.
The CMO's comments come after over 5,000 new cases of coronavirus were recorded in Ireland the last 24 hours.
On a dramatic Tuesday, we learned that all passengers arriving into Ireland will have to have a negative antigen or PCR test to gain entry into the country from Friday, Cabinet have agreed.
Health Minister Stephen Donnelly confirmed to the Irish Mirror that this would include passengers coming by air or sea from Great Britain.
Masks will now have to be worn by all above third class in schools and in public situations - but the CMO praised parents for their efforts so far.
He said: "The ongoing efforts by parents and children to adhere to the public health advice during this pandemic has been fundamental to our work to drive down the incidence of COVID-19 in the community.
"Our priority continues to be to minimise risk and protect as many people as possible from severe illness.
"In a very short period of time, we have seen a significant and rapid deterioration in the epidemiological situation, in the as-yet-unvaccinated five – 11-year-olds. This has resulted in a sharp increase in incidence in this age group.
"In addition to the public health advice to all of us to reduce discretionary social contact and for at least the next two weeks, the following events and activities should be avoided:
- Indoor birthday parties and play dates – these should take place outdoors and should be kept small
- Sleepovers
- Indoor community gatherings involving children including communions, confirmations, nativity and other seasonal events."
Have your say on the latest restrictions below, or click here.
