191 new cases of coronavirus confirmed in Ireland

A third patient has died as a result of the virus.

191 new cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Ireland. An announcement made by the Department of Health on Thursday evening (19 March) also revealed that a third patient has died as a result of the virus. This brings the total number of cases in the Republic of Ireland to 557, and a total of 634 on the island of Ireland. This is a 52% rise in confirmed cases since Wednesday, which represents the biggest increase in cases so far. This news also comes as a result of an increase in testing in Ireland. Speaking at Thursday night's briefing, Chief Medical Officer Doctor Tony Holohan said the Department of Health would not have expected to see any impact from social distancing measures on the figures at this stage. Dublin has the highest number of cases, followed by Cork and Limerick. A total of 77 people have tested positive for Covid-19 in Northern Ireland, a figure that is up nine from yesterday. Thursday night's briefing also revealed that every county except Monaghan now has a confirmed case of coronavirus. Meanwhile, the Department of Health in the UK has said that 144 people there have died after testing positive for COVID-19.