- with reporting from Noel Baker, Digital Desk staff

Staff at Cork's Bon Secours Hospital have been told of a confirmed case of Covid-19, bringing to two the number of cases of the virus now in hospitals in the city.

A message sent to staff today said: "Bon Secours to all staff. We have a confirmed case of Covid-19. We are satisfied appropriate measures have been put in place.

"The Hospital continues to function as normal with visitor restrictions in place."

The message concluded that staff information systems will be held on Monday.

A statement from the hospital read: "Bon Secours Health System can confirm that a patient who has tested positive for Covid-19 is at Bon Secours Hospital Cork.

The patient is being cared for in a single room and contact precautions have been in place since the patient’s arrival.

"To protect patient privacy, we will make no further comment on the case."

The statement added that coronavirus response teams "have been in place at the Bon Secours Health System for some time, with working groups at each facility and at Group level. Bon Secours Health System is working closely too with the HSE and Public Health colleagues.

"Guidance on protocols to minimise risk to patients and staff are being shared on an ongoing basis. Visitor restrictions are in place at all Bon Secours Health System facilities since Friday and are detailed on our website: one visitor per patient, no children, no visitors with symptoms of flu.

"Elective surgeries will continue as normal in Cork except in a very small number of cases and those patients are being contacted."

The National Public Health Emergency Team confirmed the case along with another in the east of the country.

A statement revealed that both are cases of community transmission.

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It comes as the HSE chief executive Paul Reid told RTÉ that some of the almost

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Mr Reid said the staff who return would not be symptomatic and would be regularly tested and assessed.

He said the staff would need to return as there was a necessity to balance containment measures and the need to keep the health system functioning at a time when more confirmed cases are expected.

Meanwhile, the HSE has said it cannot dispute projections that 1.9 million people in the Republic of Ireland may fall ill with coronavirus.

A report in the Business Post says half of those people are expected to contract the virus over a three-week concentration burst.

However, the Health Service Executive also said that the modelling scenario has not been completed yet.

They pointed out that trends in Italy indicate large numbers of cases are possible.