All St Patrick’s Day parades in Ireland have been cancelled in an attempt to curb the spread of the Coronavirus. 

After weeks of delay, the news was leaked ahead a meeting of the acting Cabinet in Dublin on Monday. Multi-party meetings to deal with the crisis have also been announced.

The last time such a drastic measure was taken was during the outbreak of foot-and-mouth, a cattle disease in 2001. Other major St Patrick’s Day events are expected to be cancelled across Ireland in due course.

A total of 33 cases have so far been diagnosed in Ireland, which is showing early signs of taking hold in both parts of the island.

Acting Minister for Health Simon Harris said the coronavirus outbreak in the country was becoming "very serious".

While the cancellation announcements have been seen as inevitable, criticism continues of Ireland’s low-key approach to the crisis. In particular, there has been no attempt to utilise our island geography as has been the norm for previous disease outbreaks.

A low level of intervention has been the order of the day across most European nations in comparison with China, where the disease began but is now coming under control.

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald, whose family has already had to self-isolate, said that a "collective approach" was needed, and welcomed the decision to cancel St Patrick’s Day events as "responsible".

Ms McDonald added: "We must, as a matter of urgency, develop a strategy that protects our workers as well as speeding up efforts to maximise the capacity of our health service."