An appeal has been made for younger people in Monaghan to continue to follow public health guidelines after a rise in covid-19 cases.
It comes from the Department of Public Health North East, Monaghan GAA and Monaghan County Council on the back of what they're describing as a "concerning" and "rapid" increase.
Monaghan has the second highest 14 day Covid-19 incidence rate in the country.
There have been 410 cases in in the last 14 days, giving an incidence rate 668 per 100,000 population.
The national average is 422.5.
Dr Augustine Pereira, Director of Public Health North East, says the situation is concerning, adding that we have not seen this level of infection since early February.
He's appealing to teenagers and those in their twenties and thirties in particular to reduce their social contacts and to avoid attending house gatherings.
40 per cent of all cases in Monaghan last week were in people aged 15 to 24.
Monaghan GAA Chairperson, Declan Flanagan, has called on the people of Monaghan to work together to ensure the virus does not take hold and shut down society.
Meanwhile, Paul Clifford, Deputy Chief Executive of Monaghan County Council, has re-iterated the appeal to young people.
He says the people of Monaghan have shown on numerous occasions how a county with high incidence rates can bring infection numbers to single-figure digits when communities band together.
He added that the close collaboration between the HSE and Monaghan County Council will be strengthened in the coming days and weeks to address the concerning trend in case numbers.
