Dublin's St Patrick's Day parade has been cancelled, over continued fears over coronavirus .
The Republic of Ireland's Cabinet sub-committee which is charged with dealing with the coronavirus, announced today that it has decided to cancel the parade.
This will affect over half a million people, who are set to come to the capital for the parade and festival.
The news comes as the Irish Mirror reports that many towns across the county, including Cobh, Youghal, Blarney, Midleton and (earlier today) Carrigtwohill have already made the decision to pull the plug amid concerns over the spread of the virus.
A spokesperson for Belfast City Council has said that, as it stands, the Belfast St Patrick's Day Festival is still going ahead.
Ireland's Health Minister Simon Harris has said the coronavirus outbreak in the country will become "very serious", adding there is a moderate to high risk it could follow in similar ways as experienced in other European nations.
Simon Harris said it will require a whole of government and whole of society approach to deal with the escalation in coronavirus cases.
He said the country's health service will not be found wanting in its resources to tackle the outbreak.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is chairing a new Cabinet sub-committee meeting on Covid-19.
Senior members of government and health experts are discussing how to deal with the impact of the virus and consider strengthening employment protection laws and supports for people who have to self-isolate.
It has also been confirmed that Mr Varadkar is to shorten his St Patrick's visit to the US to attend further meetings about Covid-19.
Mr Varadkar is not attending an engagement in New York on Tuesday and instead will begin his trip in Washington on Wednesday.
He had been due to attend a UN event in New York, however a government spokesman said the Taoiseach will start his visit by attending engagements on Wednesday evening.
