A spike in coronavirus cases shouldn't be taken as a sign the outbreak is bouncing back, according to the Chief Medical Officer.
22 of the 46 Covid-19 cases reported yesterday were delayed from earlier in the week.
There were 13 confirmed cases on Friday, eight on Thursday, 19 on Wednesday and nine on both Monday and Tuesday.
The Department of Health says they were held up for technical reasons at the National Virus Reference Laboratory.
“Today’s increase in notifications of Covid-19 is not an increase in the daily incidence of the disease," said Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan.
"When the cases are analysed according to the date the samples were taken, it shows that they were spread out over a number of days.
"All the indicators of the disease are stable or reducing. We will continue to closely monitor these every day."
A further five deaths were also reported yesterday, bringing the death toll to 1,705.
Meanwhile, there were two further coronavirus-linked deaths have been reported in Northern Ireland, taking the total recorded there to 541.
