Cases unlikely to drop below 500 a day - Deputy CMO

The deputy Chief Medical Officer says it will be a 'challenge' to get below 500 Covid cases per day.

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said yesterday it will be very hard to see numbers going below this level because of the more transmissible UK variant.

It comes as 606 new cases have been confirmed, with three more deaths.

Dr Ronan Glynn says he agrees getting case numbers below 500 will be difficult:

Meanwhile, mandatory hotel quarantine is now in operation for arrivals from 33 countries.

Passengers from the high-risk states must pre-book 12 nights in a facility.

The Tifco Hotel Group has signed the contract for the system, with the Crowne Plaza at Dublin Airport the first to be used.