“The key focus for all of us must be to continue to suppress the current wave of infection that is driven by the Delta variant of Covid-19."

The Omicron variant of Covid-19 has been officially detected in Ireland following the review of a number of samples by the National Public Health and Emergency Team (NPHET). Following this review, one case of Omicron has been confirmed. In a Government statement released on Wednesday afternoon, health officials noted that the case is associated with a review of eight positive cases that have arisen since Thursday, 30 September. The case is associated with one of the scheduled States linked to the Omicron outbreak. “The NPHET Epidemiological Surveillance Team has been meeting regularly over the course of the last week to monitor the situation relating to the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 and, today, we are confirming that one case has been identified in Ireland," said Chief Medical Officer Tony Holohan. "The Government has announced updated travel measures for all passengers travelling to Ireland from scheduled States. "In the first instance, the current advice remains that all non-essential travel to or from these states should be avoided. "If you have travelled from any of Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa or Zimbabwe to Ireland since 1 November you should isolate and present for PCR testing, regardless of symptom status." Holohan added that the "key focus" for all Irish citizens is to continue to suppress the current wave of infection that is driven by the Delta variant of Covid-19. "We know how to break the chains of transmission of this virus," he said. "The measures with which we are all so familiar have worked against previous variants of COVID-19, they can successfully supress transmission of the Delta variant and we are optimistic that they will work against the Omicron variant." The NPHET Epidemiological Surveillance Team will continue to monitor the situation and provide advice to the Chief Medical Officer on an ongoing basis. Featured Image of Tony Holohan via Sam Boal / RollingNews.ie