One of Ireland 's COVID-19 cases during the 2020 pandemic was a man who had traveled to Cheltenham , England .
Many Irish horse racing enthusiasts travelled abroad for the Cheltenham Festival , held in an English town where the arrival of COVID-19 had just been confirmed.  At least one Irishman , from the south , tested positive for COVID-19 after returning from Cheltenham.  The National Public Health Emergency Team decided that the returning Irish need not self-isolate , not yet regarding Britain to be overrun by the virus to the same extent as Spain or Italy then were , though Tánaiste Simon Coveney admitted that—had the horse racing event been held in Ireland—the government would have called for its cancellation.  By mid-March Ireland had become the only major horse racing country in Europe where the sport continued , albeit strictly regulated and behind closed doors .
2020 coronavirus pandemic in the Republic of Ireland