"We are seeing increasing case numbers in Dublin."

Cases of Covid-19 could double in Dublin every two weeks, NPHET has said. The chair of the National Public Health Emergency Team, Professor Philip Nolan, said this week that virus cases in Dublin have the potential to double every 14 days. Speaking during yesterday's press briefing, he said that although Ireland has a low reproduction number, the number for Dublin is considerably higher. "We are seeing increasing case numbers in Dublin, growing close to 5% per day," he said. "If this were to continue, the number of cases would double every 14 days. "While the reproduction number for Ireland as a whole is close to 1.0, the reproduction number for Dublin alone is approximately 1.4. "Given the size of Dublin's population it's essential we prevent any further spread now, by limiting our social contacts and taking precautions during any essential contacts." NPHET will meet today to discuss the growing number of cases in Dublin, and consider further recommendations for the government. This comes after reports that Covid-19 testing in meat plants had been postponed by the HSE. RTÉ News reported that the HSE confirmed the halting of testing at food processing plants - where there have been significant outbreaks of Covid-19 -  "because of the increased capacity needed at the moment to deal with people with symptoms." The testing has been re-scheduled into next week. Over 1,500 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed at meat processing plants so far. There are currently four clusters active at plants across Ireland.