Dublin City University (DCU) has denied any cases of coronavirus on its campus after rumours circulated on social media that a student had contracted the disease.
The rumours started after an image of an ambulance, which appeared to be on DCU’s campus, was posted on Instagram and then shared on Twitter.
In a statement posted on Twitter, DCU said: “Images and video have been circulating this evening on social media, accompanied by speculation and rumour regarding the health of an individual located at DCU.”
“DCU is following all recommended HSE protocols in light of the arrival of the coronavirus in Ireland”, the statement said. “Any measures taken at this stage are precautionary and in line with best practice.”
“At present there is no confirmed case of coronavirus on campus.”
The statement continued: “The safety and well-being of the DCU community is, and always will be, our highest priority. We will continue to take account of all official advice provided to us and we will keep the community updated if the situation changes.”
Yesterday, a secondary school in the east of the country was closed for two weeks after a student contracted the coronavirus. In addition, Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Shane Ross has said that Dublin’s hosting of the four Euro 2020 games this summer will be “monitored very closely” due to the outbreak.
Ross said the tournament, which will bring around 200,000 people to Dublin over the four games, is a “very important” tourism event, worth over €106 million.
Minister for health Simon Harris is to speak to the cabinet today about ways to stop the spread of the virus.
