DUBLIN, Jan 8 (Reuters) – Three cases of a new variant of COVID-19 recently identified in South Africa have been confirmed in Ireland and all are directly associated with recent travel from South Africa, Ireland’s chief medical officer said on Friday.

Health officials urged anyone who has travelled from South Africa recently to self-isolate for 14 days and get a test as soon as possible. Ireland this week reported an increasing presence of the new more infectious UK variant.

Ireland also recorded another record high in daily COVID-19 infections, with 8,248 confirmed cases bringing the incidence rate per 100,000 people over the last 14 days to 1,088. Public health chiefs said on Thursday that there were early signs that the spread was being curtailed by the country’s lockdown.

(Reporting by Padraic Halpin)

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