Health authorities in Ireland have expressed concern over a recent rise in COVID-19 infections in the country.

On Saturday, Chief Medical Officer Ronan Glynn said the new figures cast a shadow of fear as the country continues its fight against the disease.

Reuters reports that the average number of daily cases doubled from around 20 in recent weeks to over 40 over the past five days.

"Over the last five days we have seen an average of 44 cases a day. This trend is clearly concerning," Reuters quotes Glynn said.

In total, Ireland had reported 26,065 COVID-19 infections and 1,763 deaths by Saturday evening, according to data from the U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.