Nine further cases of the new variant of COVID-19 have been detected in Ireland
The Director of the National Virus Reference Laboratory in UCD, Dr Cillian De Gascun, said they were identified in samples taken between December 23rd and 29th.
He said the proportion works out at less than 10% of samples and suggests the variant is not responsible for the recent surge in case numbers.
Further testing this week of #SARSCoV2 samples dating from #December 23rd to 29th has detected 9 additional #UKvariant cases in #Ireland. This brings the total number of cases identified @nvrlucdireland to 16 (of 169 tested to date) 1/2 https://t.co/gBEy0VjXO7
— Cillian De Gascun (@CillianDeGascun) January 1, 2021
It brings to 16 the total number of cases identified in Ireland to date.
The new variant of coronavirus was first identified in the south-east of England and is believed to spread more quickly than the original strain.
It comes as NPHET predicts that at least 9,000 new cases of COVID-19 will be reported over the coming days.
