Chief Medical Officer Tony Holohan has been admitted to St James's Hospital for tests having complained about feeling unwell on Tuesday night.
It is understood the health complaint is unrelated to the Covid-19 outbreak, and thus social isolation protocols might not be necessary. Dr Holohan is expected to be released from hospital tomorrow.
The deputy chief medical officer Dr Ronan Glynn will substitute for Dr Holohan until his recovery which is expected by the end of this this week.
At the daily briefing on the Coronavirus pandemic at the Department of Health on Tuesday evening, Dr Holohan complained about feeling unwell about halfway through his contribution.
After the press conference, he went to St James’s Hospital where he underwent a number of tests, all of which were clear. None were related to Covid-19.
In his role as Chief Medical Officer Mr Holohan has been giving daily updates to the media on the situation with coronavirus since the outbreak last month in Ireland.
In the United Kingdom, its chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty has had to take leave and self-isolate after he contracted Covid-19. He had been in close proximity to prime minister Boris Johnson, health secretary Matt Hancock and Mr Johnson's chief adviser Dominic Cummings, all if whom have also been diagnosed with Covid-19.
