39 new cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in the Republic of Ireland

39 new cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in the Republic of Ireland.

A second person who tested positive for Covid-19 in the Republic of Ireland - a man in the east of the country, who is said to have had an underlying medical condition - has sadly passed away. The news was announced in a briefing by the Department of Health on Saturday evening. 21 of the cases are associated with the east of the country, while 13 are associated with the south of the country. There are three new cases in the north west, and two in the west. After 5 new cases of coronavirus were confirmed in Northern Ireland today [March 14], this brings the total cases in Ireland to 163. The news marked the biggest single-day increase of confirmed cases since Covid-19 first came to Ireland.   It comes as it was announced that the US will extend the European travel restrictions to include Ireland and the UK. Donald Trump said in a press conference on Saturday afternoon that he was planning to announce the restrictions would be extended to include both countries. “We’re looking at it very seriously because they have had a little bit of activity unfortunately so we are going to be looking at that, actually we already have looked at it and that is going to be announced,” he said. In the same press conference, Mike Pence later confirmed the restrictions will include Ireland and the UK as of midnight EST on Monday, March 16. Ireland and the UK had originally been exempt from the 30-day ban on travellers from 26 European countries, which came into effect as of midnight on Friday.