46 people have already died in Ireland as a result of the outbreak.

Cases of coronavirus are expected to rise in the coming days due to focused testing, the HSE has said. Chief Operations Officer Anne O’Connor said this morning that many new Covid-19 tests will be carried out on high risks groups meaning that the number of active cases is likely to rise. These groups include those living and working in the healthcare sector, nursing homes, and care homes. The rate of positive tests is currently at 6 percent. O'Connor told RTÉ's Morning Ireland that although testing has been reduced over the weekend, more kits have become available. “We had to look at where best to use the testing kits we have," she said. According to the HSE, 5,000 people are being tested for Covid-19 in Ireland everyday. O'Connor added that hospitals and healthcare facilities are currently navigating how best to deal with the expected surge in active cases. "We have got over 2,000 beds available in our acute hospital system and have been clearing beds to ensure that space is available," she said. "Every hospital has a surge plan in place (...) We're working to a model that allows us to scale up critical care capacity outside of traditional ICU areas." Ireland's Covid-19 death toll currently stands at 46, with 10 patients passing away yesterday. There are now 2,615 known cases of coronavirus in the country.