Coronavirus: 'Temporary morgues' planned in Republic of Ireland

Irish government officials are working on a plan to set up temporary mortuary facilities to deal with an expected "surge" in deaths from the coronavirus.

The details were outlined during a press briefing by Liz Canavan who works in the Department of the Taoiseach (Irish prime minister).

Ms Canavan described the issue as very sensitive, according to Irish broadcaster RTÉ.

"We are still in the preparation phase to deal with the surge when it comes."

Ms Canavan is the department's assistant secretary for social policy.

Since the outbreak began, the Republic of Ireland has recorded 19 deaths of patients who had been diagnosed with Covid-19.

A further 255 new cases were confirmed on Thursday, bring the country's total to 1,819.

Government and public health officials expect that the numbers infected will rise significantly in coming weeks.